How about that?
Not only did Wyoming’s Breezy Johnson win a gold medal on Sunday in the women’s downhill competition, but it was Team USA’s first medal of the entire 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.
The Jackson native beat Germany’s Emma Aicher by a razor-thin margin of 0.04 seconds to get top honors at the Olimpia delle Tofane course in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
"It's pretty sweet,” she told NBC. “Sometimes good things maybe do come to those who wait.”
Johnson was referencing her prior attempts to win in the Olympics. She participated in 2018 where her highest finish was seventh place.
Then in 2022, she was unable to participate because of a crash during a training run at the same Cortina venue.
But that’s OK, she said, putting her three trips to the Olympics in perspective.
“I was telling my mom, you go to your first Olympic Games to have been to the Olympic Games. You go to your second Olympic Games to win a medal. And you go to your third Games to win the whole damn thing,” she said.
Emotional Ceremony
Johnson teared-up during the medal ceremony, mouthing the words to the national anthem as the American flag was raised.
Spectators also waved the flag as Johnson pumped her fist and held her medal out for all to see.
That was the last time the medal was intact.
In an exuberant moment following the ceremony, the medal broke off from its ribbon and smashed into three pieces.
"I was jumping up and down in excitement, and it fell off. I think that's maybe why it broke,” she told reporters at the post-race press conference, noting it was heavier than she thought it would be.
She then cautioned other medal winners: “Do NOT jump in them!"
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Johnson becomes only the second American woman to win Olympic downhill gold, joining Lindsey Vonn, who won gold in 2010.
Vonn crashed on Sunday during her run in the downhill and was airlifted to a hospital where she underwent surgery for a fracture in her leg.
"Her coach said she was cheering for me in the helicopter, so I hope for the best for her. I hope that it's not too bad,” Johnson said of Vonn.
“My heart aches for her,” she added.
Family
Johnson told NBC News she was thinking of her dad during her ski run.
She said he was the one who taught her how to ski and had recently suffered an accident
“He found out that he can no longer ski anymore,” she said, holding back tears. “And so, yeah, the least I could do is try to ski fast for him.”
Jimmy Orr can be reached at jimmy@cowboystatedaily.com.
