Dreams Intertwined at the Winter Olympics

While one aspiration ended, another blossomed.

Following Lindsey Vonn’s unfortunate crash during the women’s downhill race early Sunday, her Team USA teammates stepped up to take her place.

Breezy Johnson finished the downhill run with a time of 1:36.10, snatching her first Olympic gold medal. She managed to stay competitive, having been the sixth racer to tackle the course.

This marked the United States’ first medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, and Johnson became the second American woman to earn gold in this event, joining Vonn, who won gold in 2010.

The 30-year-old was closely followed by Germany’s Emma Eicher at 1:36.14 and Italy’s Sofia Goggia at 1:36.69.

Fellow American Jackie Wiles also had a near-podium finish, coming in fourth with a time of 1:36.96.

After Johnson set a strong pace, Vonn dropped six racers. Unfortunately, she crashed near the top of the course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The delay in extracting her, about 20 minutes, led to a temporary halt in the race.

As Johnson prepared to race, she, being in last place, appeared concerned and gestured toward the course, likely to lift Vonn’s spirits. The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team later updated that Vonn was being “evaluated by medical staff.”

Johnson entered the competition with substantial momentum.

The skier from Jackson Hole, Wyoming is the reigning world champion in downhill, having secured her title in Saalbach, Austria, with a time of 1:41.29. She had also shown strong form during a training run the day before the final race.

With each passing moment in her race, Johnson felt the weight of emotion as the thought of winning her first Olympic medal became more tangible.

This was Johnson’s second appearance at the Olympics; she placed seventh in the downhill and fourteenth in the super-G at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.