• Picabo Street lent Lindsey Vonn a pair of her out-of-production childhood gloves before Vonn’s Olympic downhill run.
  • Vonn wore the gloves during her run that ended in a crash 13 seconds in; she was bib No. 13.
  • Street said she “cried all night” after she learned Vonn would wear No. 13, recalling past injuries tied to that number.
  • Street now focuses on Vonn’s recovery and hopes the borrowed gloves offered some protection.

H2: A sentimental gift from an Olympic idol

Before Lindsey Vonn’s downhill run at the Milan–Cortina Games, she slipped on a weathered pair of gloves that belonged to Picabo Street. The white Reusch gloves, marked with Street’s initials and a plum-colored sun on the top, have been part of Street’s racing identity for decades — even appearing on a bronze statue of her in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Street, who works for NBC as a color commentator and has long been a friend and mentor to Vonn, confirmed the two arranged the exchange prior to the Olympics. “When she saw a picture of me in those gloves, she was like, ‘Oh, those would be cool,’” Street told the Los Angeles Times. Lending the gloves was Street’s way of showing support: “I love you and I believe in you. Wear these, they’ll be fun.”

H3: The eerie coincidence of bib No. 13

The goodwill gesture took on a darker cast when Vonn drew bib No. 13 for the downhill. Vonn’s run lasted 13 seconds before she crashed and suffered a broken left leg. Street has her own painful memory tied to the number: late in her career she broke a left leg in a race that happened on a Friday the 13th in Crans-Montana.

“That number just haunted me,” Street said. She admitted she “about puked” on seeing the draw, and that she cried all night and couldn’t shake the worry. Street’s emotional reaction stemmed from those coincidences — 13 as a bib number, a 13-second run, and previous injuries connected to the same leg and unlucky number.

H3: Friendship, concern and recovery hopes

Street has long been a champion of Vonn’s career. Vonn co-produced a documentary about Street and has called her a hero. The glove loan wasn’t the first small token: Street also gave Vonn a red-white-and-blue neoprene sleeve for her hair during past Olympic games.

After Vonn’s crash, Street said her primary concern is Vonn’s health and long-term function. “I want her leg to work for her. I want her nerves to work for her,” Street said. She hopes Vonn can fully recover not only for sport but for life — to move, to play with future children and to be well.

H4: A small piece of protection and a large outpouring of support

Street told her mother about the glove loan with emotion; her mother suggested the gloves might even have kept the injury from being worse. For now, the focus from friends, fans and fellow athletes is on Vonn’s recovery and on the tight bond between two of America’s most famous alpine skiers.

(Reporting based on Los Angeles Times interview and NBC coverage.)

Image Referance: https://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/story/2026-02-11/picabo-street-gloves-lindsey-vonn-olympic-downhill-race