VIENNA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- A heavy crash put an end of American Lindsay Vonn's season as the skiing star seriously injured her right knee at the World Ski Championships in Schladming, Austria, on Tuesday.

The incident happened at the opening super-G race when Vonn flipped and crashed into a safety gate as she landed on the side of her ski. She was wheeled down the slope.

Immediate exam showed that Vonn suffered a torn anterior and medial cruciate ligament in her right knee and a lateral tibial plateau fracture, which forced the two-time World Cup overall winner out.

The race was pushed back 13 times to 1330 GMT because of bad weather. Just 36 of the 59 runners finished the race when the International Ski Federation (FIS) called an end and handed the gold to Slovenia's Tina Maze.

Switzerland's Lara Gut took silver and Vonn's teammate Julia Mancuso bronze, but two favourites who raced immediately after Vonn both failed to finish in the tough conditions.