Online Reporter
Breezy Johnson (US) has completed an incredible double, becoming Olympic downhill champion a year to the day since becoming World Champion.
The American ensured 8 February is truly her day with gold in a time of 1:36.10, with Emma Aicher (GER) and Sofia Goggia (ITA) joining her on the Olympic podium.
Johnson’s victory provided joy for the USA team on a tough day, with Lindsey Vonn’s Olympic return ending in a heartbreaking crash.
The World Cup season for Johnson hasn’t delivered quite what she maybe would have hoped so far, but she’s saved everything for these occasions.
A year to the day since winning the World downhill title, she produced a superb showing in Cortina to add the Olympic crown to her collection.
It’s an emotional full turnaround, coming after missing the Beijing 2022 Olympics due to injuries.
“I had a good feeling about today” Johnson said after securing gold. “I still can’t believe it yet, I don’t know when it will sink in. I knew I had to push, go harder than I did in training. I had to be super clean and felt like I did that. But I knew the speeds were good so I hoped it would be enough.”
No stranger to big victories from early positions, Johnson was up sixth and set the time to beat, just as she did at the World Championships. — FIS
