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| Photo courtesy of US Ski and Snowboarding |
Johnson finished the race in 1:36.10, earning the first gold medal of her career and the first medal for Team USA at these Games. The 30-year-old skier showed fearlessness from start to finish, attacking the course with speed and confidence. At times, snow sprayed from her skis as she pushed the limits of control. She reached a top speed of 80 miles per hour.
Downhill skiing is known as one of the most dangerous events in the Olympics, and Johnson’s run showed why. She took bold risks, sometimes drifting outside the blue lines that mark the course. Those chances paid off. She gained time at nearly every checkpoint and crossed the finish line in first place.
Germany’s Emma Aicher came close, winning silver with a time of 1:36.14, just four-hundredths of a second behind Johnson. Italy’s Sofia Goggia took bronze in 1:36.69, earning a medal on her home slope.
This was Johnson’s third time qualifying for the Olympics, but only her second time competing. In 2022, she tore her ACL just weeks before the Games. She tried to return, but another crash in Cortina caused more injury and ended her season.
