While covering the final women’s downhill race before the Winter Olympics in Crans Montana, Graham Dunbar witnessed one of the most dramatic moments of the season — a crash involving star skier Lindsey Vonn, just weeks before she was expected to headline the Games.
Dunbar was watching from the mixed zone when Vonn lost control at the top of the course and became entangled in safety netting. He saw her grimace in pain and clutch her left knee before managing to ski down to the finish area, where she entered a tent and disappeared from view.
Sensing the magnitude of the moment, Dunbar repositioned himself near a public area as a helicopter arrived. Using his phone, he captured video of Vonn being secured to a hoist cable alongside medical staff and airlifted from the mountain.
The video was quickly distributed to AP and SNTV customers and published widely across AP platforms, becoming the defining visual of the incident.
Dunbar continued reporting on the story throughout the day — updating the main text file from the media center, shooting a “Being There” dispatch about witnessing the crash, and filing a follow-up on race-day safety concerns while traveling back to Geneva.
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