Before Vonn's crash, Iranian coach called the skier her 'superhero' — and hoped to get her pin

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Before U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn's devastating crash on Sunday while racing on a badly injured left knee, Iran's Alpine women's skiing coach shared words of admiration for the American.

“She's my superhero,” Mitra Kalhor told The Associated Press in the Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Village on Thursday.

The Olympic Games are a place of camaraderie, where bitterness between governments like the U.S. and Iran is often of little relevance. That conviviality is likewise shown by athletes trading national team pins, a popular and beloved Olympic tradition.

“I would love to get a pin from Lindsey Vonn,” Kalhor said, noting that she met the three-time Olympic medalist previously at the world championships.

Kalhor said Sunday that her heart broke when Vonn crashed, and called her “super strong.” Vonn broke her leg, according to a statement from the hospital treating her.

Pin trading dates back to the first modern Olympic Games, revived by Pierre de Coubertin in 1896. Athletes are proudly wearing lanyards displaying pins from other teams and show them off on social media.

At the top of Cortina’s Olympia delle Tofane course, where Vonn raced in the women’s downhill on Sunday, skiers on Friday swapped pins while fog delayed their training runs.

Just as Kalhor would love a pin from Vonn, many have been coveting Kalhor’s Iran pins; she started with about 30, and by Thursday was almost out. Iranians are scarce — their team has just four athletes, only one in Cortina.

Kalhor said that she has been shocked that everyone is hunting for a pin from a nation that has never won a Winter Games medal.

“All the countries came to us — ‘It is possible to change the pins’? For me, it was really interesting because I never thought somebody would like to get it, or somebody would change the pin with my flag, but it was very nice,” she said. “The people were so excited.”

On Tuesday, American bobsledder Boone Niederhofer set out on a mission to find Iranian skier Sadaf Savehshemshaki. Niederhofer told the AP that he was specifically seeking the Iranian pin because of its rarity.

“It’s a way to interact with people who you might not otherwise,” Niederhofer said while walking through the athletes' village.

But he didn't locate Savehshemshaki. And, as of Sunday morning, he still hadn't found an Iranian to trade with.

There are other prized pins in Cortina, and the athletes' village is the hub for their exchange. China’s are admired for their beauty and variety; the team brought three designs showing a Chinese panda with the Olympic mascot Tina. A Netherlands pin featuring tiny clogs is esteemed for its uniqueness. Many athletes sought pins from countries with small delegations, like the Philippines.

Even before the Games officially began, Kailey Allan’s crossbody bag was covered in pins. She is competing for Canada in the inaugural women’s doubles luge at the Olympics, and her team pin shows a moose on a luge sled.

It’s easy to do, she said. First, she introduces herself. They talk about their sports and journeys to the Olympics, then make the trade.

Pin-swapping isn’t just for athletes and coaches, either; Olympic staff, volunteers, journalists and collectors get in on the craze, asking those they meet, “Do you have a pin for me?”

American luge athlete Sophia Kirkby posted videos on social media from a pottery studio before the Olympics, as she made hundreds of pins herself. Hers highlight women in sport with athletes in ponytails.

“Everyone wants a pin and it’s crazy how it’s a currency here,” she said during a news conference Friday. “I feel like the pin trading queen because essentially what I did was, I came to the Olympics and I brought my own currency.”

On Thursday, the AP spotted Iran's Kalhor at an outdoor coffee stand, a popular gathering spot in the athletes' village. As a former athlete turned coach, Kalhor didn't discuss politics. She spoke only about her love of Vonn and the pin trading tradition.

Walking back to her room, she was stopped by an Italian security guard who wanted a pin. It was her very last one, but she gave it to him all the same, even though he didn't have any to trade.

She said she was “super happy” that all her pins were gone so early in the Games; it showed that everyone loved them.

AP Winter Olympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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Italian luge athlete Leon Felderer poses for a photo with Italy's national pin, at the Cortina Olympic Village, during the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Patrick Shannon, a coach for the Chinese skeleton team, displays China's three pin designs at the Milan Cortina Olympic Village, during the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Kailey Allan, who is competing for Canada in the inaugural women's doubles luge looks at her favorite pins, at the Cortina Olympic Village, during the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

United States' bobsledders Frank Del Duca, left and Boone Niederhofer speak with De Aundre John, right, a bobsledder from Trinidad and Tobago after trading their unique national team pins, at the Cortina Olympic Village, during the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Iran's coach for Alpine women's skiing, Mitra Kalhor displays Iran's national pin for the 2026 Winter Olympics at the Cortina Olympic Village, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

Iran's coach for Alpine women's skiing, Mitra Kalhor poses for a photo at the Cortina Olympic Village, during the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jennifer McDermott)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a “massive” missile and drone strike on Friday near the Ukrainian capital, killing one person and injuring eight, regional authorities reported, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signaled Kyiv's openness to a potential Easter truce. The holiday is celebrated on April 12 in both Ukraine and Russia.

Another person died Friday after a Russian bomb struck an apartment block in northern Ukraine, according to local officials.

“The Kyiv region is once again under a massive Russian missile and drone attack," said Mykola Kalashnyk, head of the regional military administration, in a Telegram post on Friday morning.

According to Kalashnyk, one person died and at least eight more suffered injuries as a result of strikes on three of Kyiv's satellite towns — Bucha, Fastiv and Obukhiv. About 20 animals died after a veterinary clinic was struck, Kalashnyk added.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, said in a post on X that “almost half a thousand drones and cruise missiles” attacked Ukraine overnight.

“This is how Moscow responds to Ukraine’s Easter ceasefire proposals — with brutal attacks,” Sybiha said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday signaled Kyiv's continued openness to a potential truce on Easter, which falls next week according to the Julian calendar followed by Orthodox churches in Ukraine and Russia.

Zelenskyy told reporters that the proposal had been communicated to Moscow through U.S. channels. He added that the Kremlin's response remains unclear.

Zelenskyy has previously offered a ceasefire for the Easter period — but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this week that Moscow wants a lasting peace settlement, not a temporary truce.

President Vladimir Putin unilaterally declared a 30-hour ceasefire last Easter, but each side accused the other of breaking it.

One person died on Friday in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, near the Russian border, after a Russian guided aerial bomb struck a residential block in the city of Shostka, local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov reported. He said three more people were hospitalized with injuries following the strike, including a 29-year-old woman whose condition was serious.

In Russia, 192 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russia and occupied Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Friday morning.

Two people were hospitalized on Friday following a Ukrainian drone strike on the Leningrad region, over 1,100 kilometers (684 miles) from the border, regional Gov. Alexander Drozdenko reported. According to Drozdenko, the drones also set fire to an “unoccupied” building within the Morozov industrial zone.

The settlement of Morozov houses a state-owned plant that makes explosives and components for ammunition, including solid fuel used in Topol-M missile systems. The plant was put under U.S., EU and other Western sanctions following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Twelve people, including at least three Russian soldiers, were injured in a Ukrainian drone strike late Thursday on Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, local Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov reported. Separately, he said that seven people were wounded in the region after a drone struck a commercial facility.

Four drones were downed during the night on the approach to Moscow, mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported Friday. He did not reference any casualties or damage.

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, Russian soldiers fire a grenade launcher towards Ukrainian positions on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)