CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy — American ski racer Breezy Johnson won the Olympic downhill Sunday with a hard-charging run on a day marred by teammate Lindsey Vonn's crash that saw her being taken off the mountain in a helicopter.
Johnson was the sixth racer and found speed with a risk-taking trip along the iconic Olympia delle Tofana course on a sunny day in Cortina. She was in the leader's box when Vonn, the No. 13 racer, cut a corner too close and was spun around before crashing. The race was put on hold for more than 20 minutes.
The 30-year-old Johnson joins Vonn, 41, as the only American women to win the Olympic downhill. Johnson finished in 1 minute, 36.10 seconds to hold off Emma Aicher of Germany by just .04 seconds, securing the first medal for the United States of these Winter Games in the process. Italy’s Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic downhill winner and 2022 silver medalist, finished with the bronze.
The tears began welling in the eyes of Johnson as racer after racer couldn’t top her time. Johnson wiped them away with her mitten.
“I had a good feeling about today. I sort of still can’t believe it yet,” Johnson said. “I don't know when it will sink in.”
It's been a tumultuous road to the top for Johnson, who sat out the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a knee injury. She was given a 14-month ban that expired in December 2024 for missing three anti-doping exams and violating "whereabouts" rules. She returned to win the world championship last February.
Now, she’s an Olympic downhill gold medalist. Teammate Jacqueline Wiles finished just .27 seconds away from a medal in a tie for fourth place.
“I think that this was the best run Breezy’s ever skied,” teammate Bella Wright said. “I’ve seen her ski ever since I was 8 years old.”
Vonn's crash put a somber mood over the event. Vonn, who won the downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games, was a gold-medal favorite before her crash in Switzerland last week when she suffered a ruptured ACL for her latest major knee injury.
She returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years and after receiving a partial titanium knee replacement in her right knee.
“I hope it’s not as bad as it looked," Johnson said. "Sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and hurts you like that, it hurts that much worse. My heart just goes out to her."
Cande Moreno of Andorra had her left knee buckle while landing on a jump. Like Vonn, she was taken off the course by helicopter and the race was again put on hold.
Both downhill golds this weekend were won by the reigning world champions after Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland won the men's race on Saturday. Both races also featured up-and-coming silver medalists (Aicher, Giovanni Franzoni of Italy) and Italian veterans in bronze position (Goggia, Dominik Paris).
With her bronze medal, Goggia now has an Olympic downhill medal of every color.
“So-so with my performance, but in the overall I got a medal again,” Goggia said. "It’s a privilege.”
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Graham contributed from Bormio, Italy.
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