02/08/26 07:02:00
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02/08 07:00 CST Breezy Johnson wins Olympic downhill on day marred by American
teammate Lindsey Vonn's crash
Breezy Johnson wins Olympic downhill on day marred by American teammate Lindsey
Vonn's crash
By ANDREW DAMPF and PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writers
CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- 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.
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.
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
alsofeatured 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.
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Graham contributed from Bormio, Italy.
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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