In a stunning turn on the iconic Olympia delle Tofane slope, 30-year-old American skier Breezy Johnson stormed to Olympic gold in the women’s downhill Sunday, becoming just the second U.S. woman ever to win the event — and delivering Team USA’s first medal of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
Johnson, the reigning world champion from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, powered down the course in a blistering 1:36.10, edging Germany’s Emma Aicher by a razor-thin 0.04 seconds for silver. Italy’s Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic downhill champion and 2022 silver medalist, took bronze at 0.59 seconds back.
Tears streamed down Johnson’s face as she waited in the leader’s box, wiping them away with her mitten while the remaining competitors failed to top her time. “This was the best run I’ve ever skied,” teammate Bella Wright said afterward. “I’ve seen her ski since I was 8 years old.”
The victory marks a triumphant redemption for Johnson, who missed the 2022 Beijing Games due to a knee injury and served a 14-month ban for anti-doping whereabouts violations before roaring back to win the 2025 world downhill title. Now, she joins skiing legend Lindsey Vonn — the only other American woman to claim Olympic downhill gold (Vancouver 2010) — in the history books.
But the triumph came amid heartbreak. The race was twice halted after crashes, most dramatically when Vonn, the 41-year-old comeback story and pre-race favorite despite a recent torn ACL, spun out early in her run and was airlifted off the mountain by helicopter. Vonn, who lit up the slopes in her return to elite racing, underwent surgery and is reported in stable condition.
Johnson’s aggressive, risk-taking line through the famed course — the same one that derailed her own Olympic dreams four years earlier — paid off in spectacular fashion. “I think part of what hurt the most in 2022 was that I did love this course,” she reflected post-race. “Today it paid off.”
Teammate Jacqueline Wiles nearly joined her on the podium, finishing fourth just 0.27 seconds off bronze in a strong showing for the U.S. squad.
As the U.S. team celebrates its first gold and a historic milestone in alpine skiing, Johnson’s fearless charge has ignited national pride — proving that perseverance, speed, and sheer grit can rewrite the record books on the world’s biggest stage.
