Olympic Gold Medal Skier Lindsey Vonn has LASIK Eye Surgery

By Jim Greene

Published on July 02, 2010

Olympic and World Cup skiing champion Lindsey Vonn recently underwent LASIK eye surgery, joining the growing ranks of athletes using laser vision correction to remain competitive. The most award-winning American skier in history said her vision improved to 20/20 the day after surgery.

Vonn said she opted for LASIK, a procedure that uses a laser beam to reshape the cornea, after noticing that "it was becoming more difficult to see the gates and judge the terrain as I was skiing." She said reduced visual acuity could be the difference between winning and losing.

According to a posting from Vonn on a social media Web site, she is expected to achieve 20/15 vision after a short recovery period. She said her husband had one eye treated with LASIK and now has 20/15 vision in that eye.

Need for Excellent Vision Makes LASIK Popular with Athletes

Because excellent vision is vital to success in many sports, LASIK is especially popular with athletes. LASIK surgeons frequently advertise procedures performed on baseball and football players, professional golfers, and race car drivers.

For her LASIK procedure, Vonn chose a Los Angeles ophthalmologist whose patient list includes more entertainment celebrities than athletes. Celebrities that have undergone LASIK vision correction procedures include the likes of Kim Kardashian, model Cindy Crawford, actors Dennis Quaid, Drew Carey, Henry Winkler, and William Shatner, as well as singers Graham Nash, and Barry Manilow.