Utah Resident Breezy Johnson Claims Gold At Milano Cortina Olympics
Feb 8, 2026, 6:44 AM | Updated: 6:46 am
MILAN, Italy — Salt Lake City resident Breezy Johnson claimed the first medal of the Olympics for Team USA in the Alpine Skiing Women’s Downhill on Sunday.
Not only was it the first medal for the U.S., but it was also the first Olympic medal for Johnson.
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Breezy Johnson Goes For Gold At 2026 Winter Games
Johnson was sixth in the start order. After posting a final time of 1:36:10, she had to sit and watch 29 more runners try to best her time.
It wasn’t going to be easy to beat, as she posted the best time on both the second and fourth intermediates.
However, the tenth racer, Germany’s Emma Aicher, came within four hundredths of a second as she crossed the finish line.
Breezy Johnson secures Team USA’s first gold medal of the #WinterOlympics in the women’s downhill! 🥇 pic.twitter.com/E24hNSNOtv
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 8, 2026
The emotions started to roll in for Johnson as she stood atop the podium with the national anthem playing.
She made her Olympic debut in 2018 and was forced to miss the 2022 games with an injury. After coming in first at the 2025 World Championships, the time was now for Johnson to make history on the biggest stage.
The performance gave Team USA its first gold in the women’s downhill since Lindsey Vonn in 2010.
On the topic of Vonn, Johnson’s win was somewhat bittersweet. Before the event’s conclusion, Vonn’s run ended with a scary crash that had her flown off the mountain in a rescue helicopter.
Johnson spoke about her teammates’ crash shortly after it happened.
My heart goes out to her. I hope it’s not as bad as it looked. I know how difficult it is to ski this course. Sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and hurts you, it hurts that much more.
Although not confirmed yet, Johnson has the chance to compete in the Alpine Skiing Women’s Team Combined event on February 10 and the Alpine Skiing Women’s Super-G event on February 12.
Follow the Milan Cortina Winter Games on KSL
Find KSL Sports coverage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics here.
Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.
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