American skier Breezy Johnson claimed the gold medal in the women's downhill at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Sunday, finishing with a time of 1 minute and 36.10 seconds. Germany's Emma Aicher took the silver medal just 0.04 seconds behind, while Italian fan favorite Sofia Goggia earned the bronze with a time of 1:36.69. The race, however, was overshadowed by the dramatic crash of Johnson's teammate Lindsey Vonn, who was airlifted from the course by helicopter after a violent fall early in her run.
Vonn, the 41-year-old skiing legend who came out of retirement in November 2024 after a successful partial knee replacement, crashed just 13.4 seconds into her downhill run. She cut the line too tight on the opening traverse, clipped a gate with her right arm and was spun violently through the air before tumbling down the slope. The crowd in Cortina fell silent for a full minute as medical personnel rushed to attend to the three-time Olympic medalist. Vonn could be heard screaming in pain as she lay on the snow, and the race was halted for more than ten minutes while she received treatment.
Vonn was strapped to a gurney and airlifted by helicopter to a nearby hospital for further evaluation. She had been competing on a badly injured left knee after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament, suffering bone bruising and sustaining meniscal damage during a downhill race in Crans Montana, Switzerland, on January 30, just nine days before the Olympic event. Despite the severity of the injury, Vonn had insisted on racing, telling reporters she would try as long as there was a chance. The crash may mark the end of one of the most remarkable comeback stories in sporting history.
Johnson's gold medal performance capped a dominant showing by the 2025 World downhill champion, who had posted the fastest time in Saturday's training run and entered the race as one of the top favorites. The 30-year-old from Jackson, Wyoming delivered a technically flawless run on the legendary Olympia delle Tofane course, building an insurmountable lead that held up as the remaining competitors took to the slope. Aicher's silver was a breakthrough result for the 21-year-old German, while Goggia's bronze delighted the home Italian crowd in what may be her final Olympic appearance.
Vonn's career stands as one of the most decorated in alpine skiing history. She holds 84 World Cup victories, the second most by any woman, and won the Olympic downhill gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games, becoming the first American woman to achieve that feat. She added two bronze medals at the 2010 and 2018 Olympics before retiring in 2019 due to chronic knee problems. Her return to competitive skiing after a partial knee replacement surgery at age 40 captivated the sporting world, and she won two more World Cup races during the 2025-2026 season, including a historic victory in St. Moritz in December 2025 that made her the oldest downhill World Cup winner ever.
The United States Olympic Committee confirmed that Vonn was conscious and responsive during the helicopter transfer and that her condition would be assessed at the hospital. It remains unclear whether Vonn will be able to compete in the women's super-G event later in the Games. The focus of the women's alpine skiing program now shifts to Johnson, whose gold medal represents the crowning achievement of a career that has seen her rise from a promising young talent to Olympic champion on one of the most storied courses in the sport.
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