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Breezy Johnson's downhill gold is America's first medal of 2026 Winter Olympics

United States' Breezy Johnson shows her gold medal in the alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.
Andy Wong
/
AP
United States' Breezy Johnson shows her gold medal in the alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.

U.S. Alpine Skier Breezy Johnson won today's Olympic women's downhill at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Center in Cortina, Italy.

The sixth racer out of the starting gate, Johnson was especially fast on the lower portion of the famed course at Cortina, reaching the finish line with a time of 1:36.10.

That was just fast enough to beat Germany's Emma Aicher's time of 1:36.14, just 0.04 seconds behind. Italy's Sofia Goggia won the bronze medal, 0.59 off Johnson's pace.

The first medal for the US of these games came in a race marred by a spectacular crash by Johnson's teammate Lindsey Vonn. Vonn was evacuated from the mountain by helicopter, it is unclear at the time if she is injured or how badly.

Today's victory by Johnson, age 30 from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, comes, according to the US Ski and Snowboard team, "after a significant comeback year in 2024-25 She showed grit and determination when she won gold at the 2025 World Championships downhill. Johnson then followed up this gold with another gold medal in the team combined event, alongside teammate Mikaela Shiffrin. Finally, she capped off a strong season with a World Cup podium in Kvitfjell, Norway."

Isabella Wright also raced for Team USA and posted a time of 1:38.85.

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Becky Sullivan has reported and produced for NPR since 2011 with a focus on hard news and breaking stories. She has been on the ground to cover natural disasters, disease outbreaks, elections and protests, delivering stories to both broadcast and digital platforms.