Johnson wins gold, Vonn crashes in emotional US Olympic rollercoaster
· Yahoo Sports
Breezy Johnson claimed Olympic gold in the blue riband women's downhill ski race on Sunday which was overshadowed by a heavy crash for her American team-mate Lindsey Vonn.
Visit sweetbonanza.qpon for more information.
Johnson, 30, has never won a World Cup race but she added the Olympic gold to the world title she won last year, the day after Swiss Franjo von Allmen achieved the same on the men's side.
Vonn's quest for a second downhill gold 16 years after the first, and with a ruptured cruciate ligament in her left knee sustained last week, ended just over 10 seconds into her run when she crashed after hooking a gate.
"My heart goes out to her, I hope it is not as bad as it looks," Johnson said.
Johnson strikes again at big event
Johnson had watched Vonn's crash in shock as she had already completed her race in 1 minute 36.10 seconds on the iconic Olimpia delle Tofane piste.
She won with a slender margin of four hundredths of a second ahead of all-rounder Emma Aicher, who secured Germany's first medal at the Milan/Cortina Games.
Sofia Goggia earned bronze in front of an Italian home crowd, .59 of a second behind the winner to complete a full set of medals after 2018 gold and 2022 silver.
Johnson said: "I had a good feeling about today but I can't believe it yet. I knew I had to push and be super clean. I tried to keep it rolling and knew the speed was good."
Aicher said her run "just felt wild" and that she had trouble at the jumps, and Goggia said she was also not flawless.
"I know I made some mistakes here and there. But at the same time, if I have to think overall, it's the third medal in my third Olympics. It's huge," Goggia said.
Vonn drama
But the race was completely overshadowed by Vonn's fate in what could be her last career race.
Competing with bib 13, Vonn lost control on a jump after hooking a gate with her left arm and fell heavily. She immediately held her damaged left knee and screamed in pain when she came to a standstill.
The 41-year-old was taken away by helicopter after lengthy treatment on site. There was no news yet on her injuries.
There was a stunned silence in the finish area where spectators included her father, Alan Kildow, rapper and honorary US coach Snoop Dogg and Italian ski great Alberto Tomba, who had lit the Olympic cauldron on Friday.
Best wishes from Eliash, Shiffrin
Johan Eliasch, president of the ruling body FIS, called the crash "tragic, but it's ski racing I'm afraid.
"I can only say thank you for what she has done for our sport, because this race has been the talk of the Games and it's put our sport in the best possible light.
"I hope she will have a speedy recovery and be back on skis very soon. She will be sent to a hospital, either locally or further away depending on the injury, which I have no details on."
The US ski team said in a brief statement: "Lindsey Vonn fell in the Olympic downhill and will be evaluated by medical staff."
Another US ski star, Mikaela Shiffrin, posted three prayer emojis on social media in the direction of Vonn.
Comeback not rewarded
Twice world champion Vonn came out of retirement last season with a partially artificial right knee, aiming for more Olympic glory on the Cortina piste where she has won 12 of her 84 World Cup races.
She led this term's downhill standings before damaging her knee nine days ago in a crash in the Crans-Montana downhill. She still decided to compete at the Olympics, racing with a brace.
Cande Moreno of Andorra also crashed heavily later on, cutting an edge after a jump, and also needed to be airlifted away.
Like on the men's side, only 36 skiers contested the women's race.
US' Lindsey Vonn is transported away by helicopter after falling during the Women's Downhill Alpine Skiing competition during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games Milan-Cortina. Michael Kappeler/dpaUS' Lindsey Vonn is transported away by helicopter after falling during the Women's Downhill Alpine Skiing competition during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games Milan-Cortina. Hans Klaus Techt/APA/dpa