Quick Read
- Breezy Johnson won her first Olympic gold medal in the women’s downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
- Johnson’s winning time was 1:36.10, making her the first American woman outside of Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual Alpine skiing medal since 2014.
- Her victory came on the same challenging Tofane course where she suffered a severe knee injury in 2022, forcing her to miss the Beijing Olympics.
- U.S. teammate Lindsey Vonn, 41, crashed violently 13 seconds into her run and was airlifted from the course, nine days after tearing her ACL.
- Germany’s Emma Aicher took silver, and Italy’s Sofia Goggia earned bronze.
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (Azat TV) – American Alpine skier Breezy Johnson secured her first Olympic gold medal in the women’s downhill event on Sunday, February 8, 2026, at the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Johnson’s triumph, a significant personal and national achievement, unfolded on the same challenging Tofane course where she had suffered a career-altering injury four years prior, and was notably accompanied by a dramatic crash involving her celebrated U.S. teammate, Lindsey Vonn, who was airlifted from the course.
Johnson’s Historic Downhill Gold in Cortina
Breezy Johnson, 30, a native of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, navigated the 1.6-mile course with over 2,000 feet of elevation drop in a winning time of 1:36.10. Her performance not only marked her first Olympic medal in her second Games appearance but also secured the United States’ first medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics. Johnson’s victory was a testament to her resilience, as she had famously declared her need to ‘exorcise her Dolomiti demons’ on the very course that had forced her to withdraw from the 2022 Beijing Olympics due to a severe knee injury.
Johnson, who entered the competition as the reigning world champion in downhill, skied sixth in the lineup. Her time held up against the remaining competitors, with Germany’s Emma Aicher earning silver, just four-hundredths of a second behind, and Italy’s Sofia Goggia claiming bronze for the host nation. American Jackie Wiles finished just off the podium in fourth place. Upon stepping onto the podium, Johnson extended her arms in celebration, visibly holding back tears as the U.S. national anthem played.
A Path of Redemption and Resilience for Breezy Johnson
Johnson’s gold medal run was a culmination of overcoming significant personal and professional hurdles. In 2022, a crash during a training run in Cortina left her with torn cartilage in her right knee, sidelining her from the Olympics that year. ‘It’s a beautiful place, (but) it has teeth and has also hurt a lot of people,’ Johnson remarked about the Tofane course, reflecting on its demanding nature. Her teammate, Bella Wright, who finished 21st, lauded Johnson’s performance, stating, ‘I think that this was the best run Breezy’s ever skied. … She had some mistakes. She had some wild moments, but she really was so gritty.’
Beyond physical recovery, Johnson’s journey also included a 14-month suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency in May 2024 for missing three anti-doping tests within a 12-month period. This period of adversity further underscored the challenging path she navigated to reach Olympic glory. Her determination was evident in her post-race comments: ‘I knew I had to push and go harder than I did in training. I had to be super clean and I felt like I did that.’
Lindsey Vonn’s Dramatic Crash and Olympic Aspirations
The same downhill race that saw Johnson achieve her career highlight also bore witness to a dramatic and concerning incident involving U.S. Alpine skiing legend Lindsey Vonn. Competing at 41 years old, Vonn, who was attempting to become the oldest Alpine skier to medal at an Olympics, crashed violently only 13 seconds into her run. She was heard screaming after her fall and was subsequently airlifted off the course, leading to an approximately 30-minute delay in the competition.
Vonn’s participation in the event came just nine days after she had ruptured the ACL in her left knee, highlighting her immense resolve to compete despite a severe injury. This incident occurred 16 years after Vonn had won her own Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, Canada, in the downhill event. The immediate status of her injuries following the crash was not immediately clear, but the severity of the fall was evident to spectators and fellow competitors.
New Chapter for U.S. Alpine Skiing Beyond Vonn and Shiffrin
Johnson’s victory also marked a significant moment for American Alpine skiing, as she became the first American woman not named Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual medal in Alpine skiing since Julia Mancuso’s bronze in the super combined event in 2014. This achievement signals a broadening of the U.S. women’s Alpine talent pool, moving beyond the two dominant figures of recent decades. Mikaela Shiffrin, a long-time friend of Johnson, extended her congratulations following the race.
The women’s downhill event in Cortina d’Ampezzo provided a potent blend of triumph and tribulation, underscoring the high stakes and inherent risks of Olympic-level Alpine skiing. Johnson’s gold medal, hard-won against a backdrop of personal adversity and a challenging course, simultaneously celebrated a new American champion while also highlighting the enduring, sometimes painful, legacy of veterans like Lindsey Vonn.