Upon meeting reporters near the finish line at Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Italy on Sunday afternoon, Breezy Johnson did something unexpected: she retrieved the gold medal she had just captured in the Olympic downhill event—the first American medal of these Milano Cortina Games—from her pocket. The 30-year-old Johnson had bounced so vigorously on the podium that the medal had slipped from its typical spot, hanging by a thread around her neck.

“It was certainly heavier than I anticipated,” Johnson remarks. “I suppose that might be why it broke.”

Regardless of where Johnson keeps her gold medal, it belongs to her permanently. The American skier adopted an aggressive path down Cortina’s downhill track on Sunday, completing the course in 1 minute, 36.10 seconds. As the sixth competitor to descend, she was forced to wait for 30 additional racers before she could celebrate Team USA’s first women’s downhill Olympic gold in 16 years. Germany’s Emma Aicher kept Johnson anxious under the intense Cortina sun, finishing a mere 0.04 seconds behind. Aicher claimed silver, while Italy’s Sofia Goggia earned bronze.

From the leader’s seat, Johnson observed the previous American champion of this Olympic event—who won in 2010—competing in the Games at age 41. “It was among the most devastating moments of my life,” Johnson states. “I cannot fathom the anguish she is experiencing. And it’s not the physical suffering—we can handle physical pain. But the emotional torment is different. I wish her well, and I hope this isn’t the conclusion of her story.”

While Vonn’s crash certainly cast a shadow over the downhill competition, Johnson nonetheless merits recognition and appropriate attention for delivering a legendary pressure-packed performance in the Games’ premier ski race. Consider the downhill as the Winter Olympics’ equivalent of track and field’s 100-meter sprint. The event is swift, carries prestige, and is must-see television—particularly this year, with Vonn participating.

A native of Jackson Hole, Johnson debuted on the World Cup circuit in 2015-2016 but has never claimed victory at one of the nearly weekly events on the annual tour (she has lost considerable time to injuries). Nevertheless, she captured the downhill title at the 2025 world championships, along with this Olympic downhill. This achievement would be comparable to a tennis player who never triumphed at a standard tour venue like Washington, D.C., or a more glamorous tournament like Indian Wells, yet lifted the trophies at the U.S. and French Opens. Johnson also secured the team combined title at last year’s world championships: she will almost certainly team with , the top-ranked slalom specialist, in that competition on Tuesday.

Johnson’s path to gold has been fraught with difficulties. In addition to injuries, she received a 14-month suspension in 2023 and sat out the 2023-2024 World Cup season after missing three drug tests in 2022 and 2023. She has consistently maintained that , insisting she never deliberately avoided a drug test.

“People envy those who possess Olympic gold medals,” Johnson observes. “They don’t necessarily envy the path required to earn those medals. I doubt many people covet my journey. It’s been a difficult road. Yet sometimes you must simply persevere, because there is no alternative. When you’re traversing hell, you continue walking—you don’t want to remain stationary in that misery. And occasionally, if you persist, you might find your way back to the summit.”