( CNN ) -- American Lindsey Vonn suffered a pre-Olympic scare after taking a crashing fall in the World Cup giant slalom in Lienz on Monday . Vonn , who is a medal favorite in several disciplines for February 's Winter Games in Vancouver , damaged her left arm after sliding out on the first run , losing her balance on a bump after a sharp left turn before thumping into a gate . She received lengthy medical treatment on the slope with initial fears that she had broken the arm . But scans at a local hospital showed only severe bruising and the 25-year-old may even compete in Tuesday 's slalom at the same venue , U.S. team medical director Richard Quincy told reporters . Vonn 's arm has been placed in a splint to speed recovery and she was said to have been in considerable pain . `` Hurting my arm is way better than hurting one of my legs , '' Vonn was quoted on her personal Web site www.lindseyvonn.com . Her crash overshadowed a fine victory for Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany , who led after the first run and posted a combined time of two minutes , 16.61 seconds with Manuela Moelgg of Italy just 0.05 seconds back in second . Taina Barioz of France occupied the final podium position . Vonn retains her lead in the overall standings with 581 points ahead of second-placed Maria Reisch , who appeared distracted by her friend 's crash and also skied out first time down . The German is 50 points adrift as Vonn looks to defend her overall crown . Vonn suffered an unusual injury setback at the world championships in Val d'Isere , France earlier this year . Celebrating a medal success , she sliced her thumb open on a champagne bottle and competed for the rest of the season with heavy strapping . Vonn 's appearance in Vancouver is being heavily plugged by sponsors and television rights holders , but she is still seeking her first Olympic medal after missing out in Salt Lake City and Turin . Austria 's Kathrin Zettel , who led the GS standings going into the race but was overtaken by Hoelzl , was 0.95 seconds behind the German after skiing off-course in her first run and finished fifth . Hoelzl takes the lead in the giant slalom discipline standings , leapfrogging Kathrin Zettel of Austria , who finished fifth .
World Cup overall leader Lindsey Vonn crashes out of giant slalom in Lienz . Vonn severely bruises her left arm as MRI scan reveals no break . TL;DR The U.S. women's ski team is off to a strong start at the Sochi Olympics with three gold medals and two silvers -- but it has been overshadowed by an incident involving its star skier,