Breezy Johnson won the Olympics the day of Lindsey Vonn’s crash

By ANDREW DAMPF and PAT GRAHAM

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — American ski racer Breezy Johnson won the Olympic downhill on Sunday with a hard run on a day marred by teammate Lindsey Vonn’s crash that saw her taken off the mountain by helicopter.

Johnson was the sixth rider and found his pace with a risky ride 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, took a corner too close and spun before falling. The race was delayed for more than 20 minutes.

The 30-year-old Johnson joins Vonn, 41, as the only American women to win Olympic downhill. Johnson finished in 1 minute, 36.10 seconds to beat Germany’s Emma Aicher by just 0.04 seconds, securing the United States’ first medal at these Winter Olympics in the process. Italy’s Sofia Goggia, the 2018 Olympic downhill winner and 2022 silver medalist, finished with bronze.

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Tears began to well up in Johnson’s eyes as racer after racer couldn’t keep up with his time. Johnson wiped it away with his glove.

“I had a good feeling today. I still can’t believe it,” Johnson said. “I don’t know when it will sink in.”

It has been a tumultuous road to the top for Johnson, who missed the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a knee injury. He was given a 14-month ban ending in December 2024 for missing three anti-doping tests and breaching “whereabouts” rules. He won the world championship again last February.

Now, he is an Olympic gold medalist. Teammate Jacqueline Wiles was just 0.27 seconds away from a medal for fourth place.

“I think this is the best run Breezy has ever had,” said teammate Bella Wright. “I’ve watched him ski since I was 8 years old.”

Vonn’s accident cast a somber light on the event. Vonn, who won the downhill race at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, was the favorite to win the gold medal before she crashed in Switzerland last week when she suffered a ruptured ACL in her latest major knee injury.

He returned to elite ski racing last season after nearly six years and after receiving a partial titanium knee replacement on his right knee.

“I hope it’s not as bad as it seems,” Johnson said. “Sometimes, because you love the course so much, when you crash into it and it hurts you like that, it hurts a lot worse. My heart goes out to him.”

Andorra’s Cande Moreno injured his left knee while landing in a jump. Like Vonn, she was removed from the course by helicopter and the race was again postponed.

Both downhill gold medals this weekend were won by the reigning world champions after Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen won the men’s race on Saturday. Both races also featured newcomer silver medalists (Aicher, Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni) and Italian veterans in bronze (Goggia, Dominik Paris).

With her bronze medal, Goggia now has an Olympic downhill medal in every color.

“My performance was normal, but overall I got another medal,” said Goggia. “It’s an honor.”