Alpine skier Breezy Johnson earned the USA’s second gold medal in women’s downhill on Sunday. With a time of 1:36.10, she beat out Germany’s Emma Aicher by just four hundredths of a second.
Johnson’s medal was also the first won by the U.S. in the 2026 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, her coveted prize was damaged by the time she left the medal stand. While celebrating, the ribbon attached to the medal broke away. Johnson’s medal fell and was broken into three pieces.
USA Alpine skier Breezy Johnson shows her broken gold medal to the media during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images)
(Andrew Milligan – PA Images via Getty Images)
“Well, I was jumping up and down in excitement, and it fell off,” Johnson explained to reporters. “I think that’s maybe why it broke.”
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“I don’t know that the Italians are known for their engineering,” she added, joking that none of the assembled media offered to fix the medal. “I assume someone will fix it.”
During her news conference, Johnson held up the detached ribbon and three pieces of the broken medal for reporters to see, calling it a “show-and-tell moment.”
“It is heavy, it’s broken. It’s a look,” she said.
In addition to the joy of winning gold, Johnson also felt the emotions of watching teammate Lindsey Vonn crash and get airlifted from the Tofane slope at Cortina d’Ampezzo due to her injuries. While waiting through a 30-minute delay and for the rest of the competition to finish, she could be seen tearing up several times.
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Perhaps Johnson was also recalling her own memories of getting hurt at the same venue. In 2022, she crashed and injured her right knee on training run in Cortina, which kept her from competing in the Beijing Games.
Johnson could have another opportunity for a gold medal in the women’s combined team competition, possibly paired with Mikaela Shiffrin. If she wins that event, she may hold onto that medal more tightly.
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