Team USA’s Breezy Johnson Savored Winning Gold During Powerful Medal Ceremony

Breezy Johnson became the first American to earn a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games by speeding to victory Sunday in the women's downhill. It's the first Olympic medal for the skier after missing the , who climbed to the top of the podium to punctuate the moment

Here's Johnson listening to “The Star-Spangled Banner” with the sport's ultimate prize on her neck. It's definitely a moment she will never forget.

A moment Breezy Johnson will remember forever. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/qJTzKa5sgs
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 8, 2026

With a time of 1:36.10, Johnson was able to edge out Germany's Emma Aicher by .04 seconds and was a full half-second quicker than the bronze medal finisher, Italy’s Sofia Goggia. One of the first participants to go through the gates, the 30-year-old set an unreachable pace for the other gold hopefuls and cemented herself in rare company.

Johnson joins Lindsey Vonn as the only American women to win gold in the downhill, with Johnson’s win coming 16 years after Vonn pulled it off at the Vancouver Games.

The gold did not come without some cost for Team USA as Vonn's impressive comeback attempt ended 13 seconds into her run when she suffered a crash after landing awkwardly. For the second time in as many weeks Vonn had to be airlifted off the course.

“I hope that it’s not too bad,” Johnson told reporters after the victory. “My heart aches for her. It’s such a brutal sport sometimes.”

Those comments reflect a knowledge of this as her own journey took a few detours before achieving the dream goal. Johnson was unable to compete in the 2022 Beijing Games due to a knee injury and had to wait eight long years before getting another Olympic opportunity after her first appearance in 2018.

But seeing the raw emotion and pure happiness here, it's a reminder of why these athletes stick it out through the hardest of times.

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