The Jackson Hole, Wyoming, native was on the verge of victory when she recorded three second-place World Cup results over a one-year period ending in December 2021. Then a crash a month later ruled her out of the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a knee injury.

Breezy Johnson won women's downhill gold for the United States, setting an unbeatable pace after going first out of the start hut, at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Saturday. The medal was the first in a major event for the 29-year-old,

Breezy Johnson had never won a major race before Saturday's breakthrough, one year to the day until the 2026 Olympic downhill race.

Breezy Johnson is the fourth American woman to win the downhill at the World Alpine Skiing Championships, marking the first major victory of her career. Johnson, the first racer, put down a time and then waited in the finish area for more than an hour to see if anybody would beat it. No one did.

Breezy Johnson won women's downhill gold for the United States, after going first out of the start hut and setting an unbeatable pace, at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Saturday.

American Breezy Johnson wins the women's downhill title at the World Ski Championships after returning from a 14-month ban.

Breezy Johnson earned her first top-level victory and became the first American woman to win a world downhill title since Lindsey Vonn in 2009. Courtesy

American Breezy Johnson was the first starter and then watched in disbelief as none of the 32 others managed to go faster which gave her a surprise gold medal in the world championship downhill on Saturday.