A Golden Moment for Team USA, but a Bitter Sweet Victory
In a thrilling and emotional turn of events, American skier Breezy Johnson claimed Team USA's inaugural gold medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Games in the women's downhill race. However, this victory was overshadowed by the unfortunate crash of her teammate, Lindsey Vonn.
At 30 years old, Johnson was the sixth skier to take on the iconic Olympia delle Tofana course on a sunny Saturday. She flew down the slopes, clocking an impressive time of 1:36.10, and took an early lead. This marked her first-ever Olympic medal, a truly remarkable achievement.
Joining Johnson on the podium were Emma Aicher from Germany and Sofia Goggia of Italy. Johnson's win places her as the second American woman to claim the Olympic gold in downhill skiing, following in the footsteps of Vonn, who achieved this feat at the 2010 Vancouver Games.
The moment Johnson received her medal and heard the national anthem, her emotions overflowed. "I had a good feeling about today," she said, "but I still can't quite believe it. I don't know when it will truly sink in."
Johnson's journey to the top has been far from easy. She missed the 2022 Beijing Olympics due to a knee injury and faced a 14-month ban, which ended in December 2024, for missing three anti-doping tests and violating 'whereabouts' rules. Despite these setbacks, she made a remarkable comeback, winning the world championship in February last year.
Vonn, who was a strong favorite for the gold medal before suffering a ruptured ACL a week ago, crashed just 13.4 seconds into her downhill run. She lost control on the opening traverse after cutting the line too closely, and was spun around in the air. Medical personnel quickly surrounded her, and she was heard screaming in pain. She was then strapped to a gurney and airlifted away by helicopter, potentially bringing an end to her illustrious skiing career.
Team USA described the incident, stating, "Vonn's right ski pole snagged a gate, jerking her off balance and out of control. She was airlifted from the mountain, a common practice for injuries during alpine competition."
Johnson expressed her concern for Vonn, saying, "I hope it's not as bad as it looked. Sometimes, when you love a course so much and crash on it, the pain is that much worse. My heart goes out to her."
The other American skiers in the race, Jacqueline Wiles and Isabella Wright, finished in 5th and 21st places, respectively.
This report was contributed to by The Associated Press and Haley Ott.
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