Analyze all Alpine skiing events between Milan and Cortina
USAT’s Sam Cardona-Norberg analyzes the differences between the Alpine skiing events at the Winter Olympics ahead of the Milan-Cortina Games.
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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, ITALY – Lindsey Vonn’s hopes for another Olympic medal were dashed when the American star crashed hard early on the downhill stretch.
Vonn lost her balance in the air on her first jump, putting all of her weight on the back of her skis. She tried to stand up in the air, but was unable to do so and crashed into the snow.
The three-time Olympic medalist remained face down in the snow as the gasps and groans of the crowd faded into a shocked silence.
Bon cut out the fourth gate with his right arm. She put her feet on her hips and her weight was too far behind the skis to recover. She rolled onto her side and then somersaulted. The crash occurred about 13 to 14 seconds into the trip, and Vonn could be heard screaming in pain.
Vonn remained on course for approximately 13 minutes before being loaded onto a helicopter, and was airlifted by helicopter approximately 18 minutes after the crash.
“Let’s hear from Lindsey Vonn!” the American announcer said as the helicopter took off with her, and the crowd cheered and applauded.
American teammate Breezy Johnson took an early lead and held on for her first Olympic medal, but covered her eyes with her right hand after witnessing Vonn’s horrifying fall.
This is the second time in recent weeks that Vonn has left the mountaintop by helicopter. She suffered a complete rupture of her left anterior cruciate ligament, a torn meniscus and bone contusions in a downhill accident on January 30, the last World Cup event before the start of the Olympics.
A statement from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team said Vonn “will be evaluated by medical staff.”
Johan Elias, president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, added that Vonn will be taken to a local hospital or to another hospital depending on the severity of her injuries, which she does not yet know. He called the accident “tragic” and said: “The silence was deafening.”
“Knowing Lindsey, she knows her body, her injuries and her abilities,” Eliash added. “So I’m sure she made the right decision to start today.
“Everyone had very high expectations. And it’s tragic, but again, it’s ski racing so accidents happen.”
Vonn, 41, has a partially replaced right knee and also skis. She was dominating the sport even before her accident, finishing on the podium in all five downhill races this season and winning two of them.
Despite her recent injury, Vonn was determined to compete in her fifth and final Olympics. She says her knee feels stable and strong and has been doing intensive rehabilitation, pool training, weightlifting and plyometrics over the past week. She skied both training runs and had the third fastest time on the second run before it was canceled due to fog and snow.
Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow was on the downhill course today and told an NBC reporter during a live broadcast:
“That was definitely something that we didn’t want to see happen and it happened so fast, and then you just hope she’s okay right away. And then when you start seeing the stretcher coming out, that’s scary because that’s not a good sign,” Kildow said. “But she really… she was very brave and put it all out there. So it’s really hard to tell, but we really hope she’s okay.”
“She has all her surgeons and PT staff here, as well as her doctors, so I’m sure they’ll give us a report and we’ll see her wherever she is at the hospital.”
Jackie Wiles said after finishing fourth in the downhill, “It was pretty awful to see Lindsey fall off the start.” “I mean, we have such a sisterhood. I mean, we travel together on the road. We’re family, and it really sucks to see someone that you care so much about, and my heart kind of broke for her in that moment.”
“But that’s the inherent risk of this sport. I think we all know what’s going to happen and I think we all have a lot of love and respect for each other because it’s a risk. And, yeah, it sucks when it’s someone you care about so much.”
American Breezy Johnson won Cortina.
The same course that ended her 2022 Olympic dreams provided Gilded Immortality on Sunday, where she won her first medal for the United States in any sport.
Johnson, who skated sixth in the lineup, won the gold medal with a time of 1:36.10.
She became the first American woman other than Mikaela Shiffrin or Lindsey Vonn to win an individual alpine skiing medal since Julia Mancuso (bronze in the super combined) in 2014.
Germany’s Emma Eicher won silver, and Italy’s Sofita Goggia won bronze. American Jackie Wiles finished fourth, just one step away from the podium.
- Breezy Johnson, USA ….. 1:36.10
- Emma Eicher, Germany…. 1:36.14
- Sofia Goggia, Italy ….. 1:36.69
- Jackie Wiles, USA ….. 1:36.96
- Cornelia Hütter, Austria ….. 1:36.96
- Laura Pirovano, Italy ….. 1:37.04
- Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, Norway ….. 1:37.08
- Ariane Laidler, Austria ….. 1:37.20
- Kira, Weidl Winkelmann, Germany…. 1:37.26
- Federica Brignone, Italy ….. 1:37.29
- Mirjam Puchner, Austria ….. 1:37.65
- Nicole Delago, Italy ….. 1:37.65
- Laura Gauche, France ….. 1:37.98
- Colin Suter, Switzerland ….. 1:38.01
- Ilka Stuhek, Slovenia ….. 1:38.08
- Romane Miradri, France ….. 1:38.10
- Janine Schmidt, Switzerland ….. 1:38.28
- Jasmine Fleury, Switzerland ….. 1:38.51
- Mallory Blanc, Switzerland ….. 1:38.77
- Elvedina Muzafelija, Bosnia and Herzegovina ….. 1:38.81
- Isabella Wright, USA ….. 1:38.85
- Julia Pleshkova, Individual Neutral Athlete ….. 1:39.69
- Camille Cerutti, France ….. 1:40.41
- Jordan Holy Walk, Andorra ….. 1:41.34
- Barbora Novakova, Czech Republic ….. 1:41.89
- Cassidy Gray, Canada ….. 1:41.99
- Mathilde Schwenke, Chile ….. 1:43.31
- Rosa Poholainen, Finland ….. 1:44.08
- Alyona Ravastova, Czech Republic ….. 1:44.55
- Nicole Beguet, Argentina ….. 1:44.73
- Elisa Maria Negri, Czech Republic ….. 1:45.48
- Anastasia Shepilenko, Ukraine ….. 1:47.70
- Lindsey Vonn, USA ….. DNF
- Nina Ortlieb, Austria….DNF
- Cande Moreno, Andorra…DNF
- Valerie Grenier, Canada ….. DSQ
American Jackie Wiles narrowly missed out on the podium in the women’s downhill, finishing fourth behind teammate Breezy Johnson, Germany’s Emma Eicher and Italy’s Sofia Goggia.
Wiles was thrilled for Johnson, but shed tears when he talked about the cruel reality of missing out on a medal.
“I’m so happy for Breezy. It’s unbelievable. She did a great job today,” an emotional Wiles said. “But of course it’s hard to be fourth. At this age and having been through everything in my career, I feel like I don’t have much of a chance left.” So, yeah, it hurts. It’s really difficult, but looking ahead and racing more is all I can do.”
Cameras showed Breezy Johnson opening her mouth and making a “huh” motion with her hands as Germany’s Emma Eicher crossed the finish line 0.04 seconds behind the American.
Wow, goo goo moogle Breezy Johnson. The reigning world downhill champion put on a ferocious run that would have bankrupted anyone else trying to reach the top.
Johnson skied right on the edge, taking a tight line through most turns and sailing off the jumps. After taking the lead in the 2nd ward, he extended his lead to almost 2nd place in the 3rd ward. She appeared in the goal area covered in snow spray and pumped her fist at the cheering American fans.
Johnson reached a top speed of 130 mph at the top of the track and was still traveling at about 100 mph at the final speed sign.
Johnson crashed during a training run on this course in 2022 and missed the Beijing Games. For the second-time Olympian, recovery seems not only possible, but likely.
Today’s Olympia dels Tofane is all about speed, especially in the middle sections of the course. Current leader Arian Radler’s time of 1:37.2 is 0.7 seconds faster than Breezy Johnson’s top time in her second training run.
Overall winner and Italy’s flag bearer Federica Brignone is the first Italian skier to do so. The home crowd went wild at the start of the game, ringing the bell to cheer on the local stars as they practiced in Cortina.
More than half a dozen Italian flags flew in the stands as Brigone waved with both hands to the enthusiastic home crowd.
Switzerland’s Mallory Brun was the first to take to the course, and a huge cheer erupted as she was seen pushing out of the jumbotron’s starting gate.
What time does the Olympic women’s downhill start?
The medal events for women’s downhill at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are: Scheduled to start at 5:30 a.m. ET (11:30 a.m. local time).
On which TV channel is the Olympic women’s downhill broadcast?
USA Network will broadcast live coverage of the women’s downhill medal competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics starting at 5:30 a.m. ET. NBC will air a rebroadcast of the event at 9:20 a.m. ET.
How to stream the Olympic women’s downhill
You can stream Downhill on Peacock or NBCOlympics.com (you must be logged in with your cable or satellite certifier).
The women’s downhill medal event for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics will be held at the Tofane Alpine Ski Center in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Lindsey Vonn’s bib number may be a good omen.
Vonn will start 13th in the downhill at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on Sunday, February 8th. The only other time this season that she finished that close in the standings was at the super-G in Val d’Isère, France, where she finished third. This was the first of her two super-G podiums this season.
Breezy Johnson, who set the fastest time in training on Saturday, February 7th, will become the first American to start in No. 6. Jackie Wiles, who ran the fastest time in training on Friday, February 6th, finished 17th. Vera Wright is 24th, last of the four American skiers among the 36 skiers.
After two days of havoc due to fog and snow, conditions at the Alpine venue are almost perfect. The sky is blue and there are some clouds.
