Winter Olympics 2026: Breezy Johnson breaks gold medal after winning Alpine downhill

[Zorro]

The medal's ribbon detached while Johnson was celebrating, causing the break

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.

"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."

"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.”

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/olympics/article/winter-olympics-2026-breezy-johnson-breaks-gold-medal-after-winning-alpine-downhill-184020027.html

[La Coliniere]

1. She let it rip and skied right on the edge of disaster

but did what she needed to do to be the fastest gal down the hill today. Congratulations Breezy! …the perfect name for a skier.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Trump gold, perhaps? NT

[cloudbase]

3. "I don't know that the Italians are known for their engineering"

In support of that statement, I submit the following:

Moto Guzzi
Alfa Romeo (though the SPICA fuel injection mapping is beautiful in its complexity and execution)

Back in the 1980s, I had a boss who was an Italian fighter pilot during WWII. He said that the best thing that ever happened to him was getting shot down and taken prisoner, since the aircraft really weren't worth staking your life on.