2026 Winter Olympics: Lindsey Vonn crashes seconds into race; Breezy Johnson, Team USA figure skating take gold

Tomorrow has five medal events, including the slopestyle final in women’s skiing. At night, American figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates look to continue their dominant start in rhythm dance and the U.S. women’s hockey team faces Switzerland.

All times are in Eastern, and asterisks mean they’re medal events:

4:05 a.m.: Curling, mixed doubles (Norway vs. South Korea, Italy vs. United States, Switzerland vs. Canada, Czechia vs. Estonia)

4:30 a.m: Alpine skiing, men’s combined downhill

6:10 a.m: Women’s ice hockey (Japan vs. Italy)

6:30 a.m: Women’s freestyle skiing, slopestyle final*

Italy clinched six medals today to put it in the lead with nine total.

Norway follows with six and Japan with four. The U.S. is in sixth place in the medal count, with two total, both gold.

Two days and 11 skaters into figure skating’s team event, the United States’ gold-medal hopes hinged on one final skater.

Ilia Malinin, who at only 21 years old had already earned a world championship and developed an ability to pull off tricks no other man in history had accomplished, had to catch himself on a stumble that drew gasps, then threw a backflip — his second in as many nights, and in Olympic history — that drew screams.

Then, he had to wait out the routine of Japan’s last entrant.

It was nail-biting, nerve-wracking theater that ended with all of the air sucked out of a once-raucous Milan Ice Skating Arena as Shun Sato’s final score was read through the stadium’s public-address system. When it fell well short of Malinin’s score, seven U.S. athletes who had competed in the team event hugged one another just feet from the ice.

The final score read U.S. 69, Japan 68. Italy secured the bronze with 60 points.

Read the full story here.

Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea all earned their first Olympic medals, and they're gold.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are now two-time Olympic gold medalists.

This U.S. Olympic figure skating team is the strongest in years, so that medal count is only expected to grow as individual competitions get underway this week.

Both U.S. women recorded top-three finishes in the team event, which could signal an impending end to the American medal drought in women’s singles.

Johnson today became the second American woman ever to win the Olympic gold medal in downhill skiing, hours after the first person to accomplish the feat, Vonn, crashed violently on the famed Tofane course.

Johnson finished in 1:36.1 to earn the first Olympic medal of her career. A native of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Johnson was skiing in her second Olympics. The win was not an upset — Johnson entered the competition as the reigning world champion in downhill.

It was the United States’ first medal of the Milan Cortina Olympics. Johnson extended both arms above her head as she stepped atop the podium before she accepted her gold medal. She held back tears as she mouthed the words to the U.S. national anthem.

“I had a good feeling about today. I sort of still can’t believe it yet. I don’t know when it will sink in yet,” Johnson said. “I knew I had to push and go harder than I did in training. I had to be super clean, and I felt like I did that.”

Read the full story here.

Jacquelyn Martin, a photographer for the Associated Press, captured Vonn in the moments before the crash that ended her hope of becoming the oldest Alpine skier to win an Olympic medal.

Vonn clipped a gate at a course turn during her run today, Martin said in an Instagram post explaining how she got the shot of Vonn’s arm colliding with the gate.

"She clips it, it totally throws her off," Martin said. "She's unable to recover."

Vonn’s pursuit of an against-all-odds Olympic medal ended today with a broken left leg following a devastating crash only 13.4 seconds into the downhill final.

Skiing in a brace just nine days after she ruptured the ACL in her left knee, Vonn did not finish the final at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. She was trying to become the oldest Alpine skier, man or woman, to win an Olympic medal.

Read the full story here.

Prime-time coverage of today's Olympic events and the gold medal moments starts now on Peacock.

German luger Max Langenhan claimed his first Olympic medal when he took gold in the men’s singles event. Austria’s Jonas Mueller and Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller rounded out the podium.

Stevenson Savart, 25, made history today as the first man to represent Haiti in cross-country skiing at the Winter Games.

After having been Haiti’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony, Savart caught the heart of the crowd as he made his Olympic debut in the men’s skiathlon. As he crossed the finish line in 64th place, the fans cheered him, and he took a bow. 

Stevenson Savart of Haiti competing in Italy on Sunday. Maddie Meyer / Getty Images

“The goal is still to try and achieve the best possible performance and to push my limits. It’s an immense source of pride and great happiness to wear this outfit, and we’re trying to be symbols for our small country,” Savart said in French in a video posted on Instagram, “and give them hope, because right now they are going through a rather dark period, so we’re trying to shine a light on small countries.”

Five charter planes carrying NHL players — including Canada’s Sidney Crosby — arrived in Milan this morning from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. This is the first Olympics with NHL players since the Sochi Games in 2014.

Sweden was the first of the teams of almost exclusively NHL players to take the ice for practice at Milano Santagiulia Arena, followed by the U.S., Czechia, Canada and Finland.

The 12-team men’s tournament starts Wednesday. The U.S. and Canada are the heavy favorites, and both teams begin their campaigns Thursday. The Americans face Latvia. Canada plays Czechia.

Finland is the defending champion, but Canada has won each of the past two Olympics with NHL players.

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin made history as they became the first U.S. curling mixed doubles team to advance to the semifinals. The pair pulled off a clutch eighth end to take down Sweden this afternoon.

Sweden’s women’s hockey team defeated France 4-0 and secured a place in the quarterfinals.

Prime-time coverage of today's Olympics action will run from 10:45 p.m. ET to 12 a.m. ET because of the Super Bowl, which is also airing on NBC and Peacock.

It's the middle of the night in Italy (12:41 a.m.), but it's Super Bowl kickoff time now in Santa Clara, California.

A couple of sports pubs in Milan said earlier today that they’re fully booked and will turn away walk-ups.

Some athletes may be staying up late to watch the Seahawks-Patriots matchup.

American skier Jacqueline Wiles noted that she’s a “big, big fan” of the Seahawks. A native of Portland, Oregon, Wiles finished tied for fourth in the women's downhill today, just missing out on a bronze medal.

Click here to follow live Super Bowl coverage.

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews will be captain of the U.S. men’s Olympic ice hockey team at the Games, USA Hockey announced today.

Auston Matthews skates during a training session in Milan on Sunday. Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk and the Boston Bruins’ Charlie McAvoy will be alternate captains, with the three reprising their roles from last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, where the Americans lost in the final to Canada.

“Auston, Charlie and Matthew did a great job in leading our team a year ago at the 4 Nations Face-Off and it’s great to have them back,” general manager Bill Guerin said.

France’s Julia Simon anchored the biathlon mixed relay team, while Team Italy raced to claim silver on its home turf.

The United States has won the first gold medal in figure skating at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in dramatic fashion.

Julien de Rosa / AFP via Getty Images

Deadlocked with Japan atop the five-team standings entering the final of eight disciplines tonight, the U.S. got a huge score by reigning world champion Ilia Malinin that put him in first place. But the U.S. still had to sweat out the final skate by Japan's Shun Sato, the last competitor who could surpass Malinin — and dash the U.S. hopes of gold.

Malinin's score was 200.03. When Sato's was revealed as 194.86, it clinched the gold for the U.S. in this event for a second consecutive Winter Olympics and sent a bench full of U.S. athletes, including Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Amber Glenn, Alysa Lu, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, hugging one another as they clinched the title.

It's the second gold medal and the second medal overall for the U.S. in these Games.

Malinin threw a backflip for the second consecutive night to finish with a score of 200.03 in the men's singles free skate to move into first place. One skater is left for Japan, Shun Sato, and with the U.S. and Japan deadlocked in a tie, this run will determine who takes gold.

Team USA’s Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea are hoping their score today will contribute to a victory for Team USA. At the same time, they're basking in their best performance of the season.

Danny O'Shea and Ellie Kam of Team USA celebrate after their performance Sunday. Elsa / Getty Images

The duo scored 135.36, setting a personal best at their first Olympics.

"It’s certainly our personal best, and to put it out on the stage like this, and to really feel like as a team, we’re still growing. When we get to the Olympics, we’re still improving," O'Shea told reporters after the event.

The secret to today's success on the ice? Kam and O'Shea say "calm" to each other during the performance. As they prepared for their first lift and the energy started to build, Kam turned to O'Shea and said, "Calm!" "Mainly for myself," she said afterward.

Figure skater Amber Glenn skated off the ice shaking her head after an early landing bobble during today's competition. Now, Glenn is worried she might get in the way of Team USA's figure skating victory in the team event.

Amber Glenn reacts as her score comes in after the women's free skate event Sunday. Tim Clayton / Getty Images

"I do feel guilty that I could be the reason that we don’t win the gold, and I don’t know how I will ever apologize for that," Glenn told reporters after the event.

Glenn said she's still hopeful that Ilia Malinin can bring home the gold for Team USA in the next event. "I hope that, you know, no matter what, we can try and get that through Ilia, and even so, I’ll probably feel like I don’t deserve it," Glenn said.

This is a nail-biter for gold.

Going into the final event of the figure skating team event, in which we’ll see men’s skaters including "Quad God" Ilia Malinin, Japan and the U.S. are tied for first at 59, with Italy (52), Georgia (50) and Canada (47) trailing.

Amber Glenn had to steady herself after the opening jump of her skate during the women's singles part of tonight's team event here at figure skating, but afterward she produced a poised performance that drew thunderous applause in Milan Ice Skating Arena.

Glenn flashed a heart sign with her hands to fans afterward, then grimaced briefly at seeing her score of 138.62. It placed her second, behind Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia, but she later dropped to third after Japan's Kaori Sakamoto vaulted into first place.

The men's singles are up next to end this competition. Japan and the United States are tied heading into the final round.

The Americans, holding a slim two-point lead in the team event at figure skating, are about to bring out some serious star power in hopes it will land them a gold medal.

Women's singles skating is beginning, and three-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn will skate fourth out of five skaters.

After the women end, the men finish the competition, which means another glimpse of Ilia Malinin. He's expected to compete in a little more than an hour.

Watch Team USA lugers Jonny Gustafson and Matt Greiner take Run 4 of the men’s singles luge event at Milan Cortina 2026.

With a victory over Sweden, Team USA's Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin advance to the curling playoffs.

The pair will play Italy tomorrow.

Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin celebrate their victory over Sweden's Isabella Wrana and Rasmus Wrana on Sunday. Andrew Milligan / PA Images via Getty

Medals will be awarded tonight in the team event here at figure skating. The American figure skating pair of Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea just finished fourth out of five teams, with Japan, Georgia and Italy taking the top three spots.

With women's singles and men's singles skating still to come tonight, the standings look like this:

• U.S.: 51
• Japan: 49
• Italy: 45
• Georgia: 41:
• Canada: 41

American skier Lindsey Vonn underwent surgery to stabilize a fracture in her left leg, according to Luca Zaia, the local governor.

After crashing during the women's downhill race earlier today, Vonn was airlifted to the hospital. The veteran skier had previously ruptured her ACL in her left knee before deciding to still compete in this year's Olympic Games.

Two weeks after he became the first man to skate the 5000 meters in under six minutes, Norway’s Sander Eitrem dashed to gold in his Olympic debut, clipping nearly five seconds off the Olympic record set in 2022.

Team USA's Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea delivered their best performance of the season with a score of 135.36, setting a personal best at their first Olympics.

Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the United States compete during the figure skating pairs team event on Sunday. Natacha Pisarenko / AP

The pair has not been in conversation for a medal in the individual event, so the team event is their shot at a medal this year. And it seems like they're going for gold. Kam and O'Shea exceeded all expectations with a performance characterized by spectacular lifts and fierce musicality.

Their score should provide a comfortable cushion for Team USA in the team event.

Here's a look at who will be taking the ice for the U.S. in the team event finals today.

• Pairs free skate (1:30 p.m. ET): Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea
• Women's free skate (2:45 p.m. ET): Amber Glenn
• Men's free skate (3:55 p.m. ET): Ilia Malinin

Germany defended its gold medal today in the men's luge final, with Max Langenhan taking first place in today's competition.

Germany's Max Langenhan celebrates winning the gold medal as he arrives at the finish during a men's single luge run on Sunday. Alessandra Tarantino / AP

The reigning world champion finished with a time of 3:31.191, setting a track record and earning Germany another gold in luge.

The last three competitors to take the ice shot at bronze, silver and gold in the final moments of the competition. Italy's Dominik Fischnaller finished in third, and Austria's Jonas Mueller took home silver.

The German men's luge team has officially knocked Team USA's Jonathan Gustafson out of the top three. Gustafson currently sits in fifth place, taking him and Team USA out of medal contention.

Team USA's Jonathan Gustafson finished the men's luge final with a time of 43:34.432, putting him currently in third place.

With eight competitors left, Gustafson may have a chance at a medal today.

A back-and-forth contest saw Sweden score three in the seventh to come away with a one-point win over Canada on Day 5 of the mixed doubles curling competition at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Team USA's Matthew Greiner finished today's men's luge run at 3:35.872, putting him currently at fourth place. Greiner is out of medal contention as the final run of men's luge competition continues.

United States' Joy Dunne, right, celebrates after scoring her sides second goal against Czechia during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday. Petr David Josek / AP

Here in Milan, it's not Super Bowl Sunday. It's Super Bowl Monday.

Because of the nine-hour time difference between Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and the Milan Cortina Olympics, there aren't many athletes willing to stay up to catch a game that won't kick off until after midnight local time.

The U.S. women's hockey team, which plays Monday, certainly won't be. Coach John Wroblewski shook his head quickly when told of the kickoff time.

"Most of our bedtimes are 9:30 or 10 (p.m.), so I really don't think we'll have to worry about it," U.S. forward Taylor Heise said. "We are big football fans. I know Laila Edwards, obviously, is a Travis Kelce fan, she keeps us up to date, but we're here to play hockey. So I think at the end of the day, everyone's gonna do their best to be at their best."

Defenseman Megan Keller played at Boston College and now is part of the PWHL's Boston Fleet.

"I'll be rooting for the Pats," Keller said, "but I think we'll be finding out the score in the morning."

The U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team shared in a post on X that Lindsey Vonn is in stable condition after suffering a violent crash earlier today. Vonn is in "good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians," the post read.

Vonn crashed 13 seconds into the final, which she was competing in just nine days after rupturing her ACL. She was airlifted off the course.

Dimitrios Kambouris; Michael Reaves / Getty Images

President Donald Trump blasted freestyle skier Hunter Hess in a social media post, calling him a “real loser” for saying he had “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S. in the Olympics.

“There's obviously a lot going on that I'm not the biggest fan of and I think a lot of people aren't,” Hess said a few days ago. “I think for me, it's more I'm representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S.”

Trump wrote on Truth Social that it was “very hard to root for someone like this.”

Breezy Johnson just became the second American woman ever to win the Olympic gold medal in downhill skiing — but today, she was thinking of her dad.

Johnson's father, who taught her how to ski, was in an accident recently, Johnson told NBC News correspondent Molly Hunter after today's competition. “He found out that he can no longer ski anymore,” Johnson said tearfully. “And so, yeah, the least I could do is try to ski fast for him.”

It was a day of mixed emotions for Team USA. Veteran team member Lindsey Vonn crashed just 13.4 seconds into the downhill race, a week after rupturing her ACL.

“Yeah, I mean, I know what it is for an Olympic dream to die on this slope, and watching that really reminded me of how it felt four years ago, and my heart aches for her. It’s devastating,” Johnson said.

Nevertheless, Johnson is taking in her win. “It’s a crazy day. It feels incredible,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet.”

Vice President JD Vance is on his way to the men’s 5,000-meter speedskating event in Milan. This is his fifth Olympic event so far of the Games, including the opening ceremony. 

Team USA's Cory Thiesse and Korey Dropkin fought for their win over Estonia this morning in a neck-and-neck match.

The American duo overtook the Estonian team with back-to-back steals, finishing the round-robin session with a score of 5-3. The crowd chanted "USA" as the pair took in their hard-won victory.

They will try to earn their way to the playoffs in today's afternoon match against Sweden.

Team USA's first gold medal of these Games is... already broken.

Gold medalist Breezy Johnson shows her broken medal to the media on Sunday. Andrew Milligan / PA Images via Getty Images

Speaking at a news conference following her win earlier today in the women's downhill skiing, Breezy Johnson revealed she was jumping up and down in celebration, only for the piece that connects the medal to the ribbon to fall off.

"Don't jump with them," Johnson said. "I'm sure someone will fix it; it's not crazy broken."

After starting the Milan Cortina Games 0-5, South Korea has now won two straight with a victory over Estonia on Day 5 of mixed doubles curling competition.

France is a perennial powerhouse when it comes to biathlon, and it has claimed gold in the first biathlon event of these Games, the mixed relay.

The French team, headlined by star of the sport Lou Jeanmonnot, won gold by a comfortable margin of 25 seconds. Italy took silver, with Germany claiming bronze. Team USA came in 14th place.

With the exception of ski mountaineering, which is making its Olympic debut at the Games, this is the only winter sport in which the United States has never won an Olympic medal. Campbell Wright may have a chance of claiming a medal for Team USA in the individual events later on in the Olympics.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Before U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn’s startling crash today while racing on a badly injured left knee, Iran’s Alpine women’s skiing coach shared words of admiration for the American.

“She’s my superhero,” Mitra Kalhor told The Associated Press in the Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Village on Thursday.

Kalhor’s comment underscored the Olympics as a place of camaraderie, where bitterness between governments like the U.S. and Iran is often of little relevance. That conviviality is likewise shown by athletes trading national team pins, a popular and beloved Olympic tradition.

“I would love to get a pin from Lindsey Vonn,” Kalhor said, noting she met the three-time Olympic medalist previously at the world championships.

Kalhor said Sunday that her heart broke when Vonn crashed, and called her “super strong.”

Team USA’s head speed coach Paul Kristofic said Lindsey Vonn remains under medical evaluation in Cortina, with the team yet to hear any update on Vonn's condition.

"We don't know anything really yet," Kristofic told reporters. "She's with a medical team in the hospital.

"She's getting evaluated right now in Cortina. And then, obviously, depending on the severeness of the injury, they're going to make decisions where to put her."

In probably one of the best reactions to winning gold we'll see at these Games, Austria's Benjamin Karl has won back-to-back Olympic gold medals, defending the men's snowboard parallel giant slalom title he won in Beijing four years ago.

Karl, 40, plans to retire from the sport at the end of the season, and he marked winning his fourth Olympic medal by ripping off his jersey in celebration. The Austrian narrowly beat South Korea's Kim Sangkyum for gold. The bronze-medal race was even closer, going down to a photo finish with Bulgaria's Tervel Zamfirov claiming the win by the finest of margins.

David Ramos / Getty Images

It was widely expected that Czechia would win gold in the women's event — but few would have expected it to be 22-year-old Zuzana Maderová, who has never won an event on the World Cup circuit.

Maderová's teammate, two-time Olympic champion Ester Ledecka, was widely tipped to claim a historic third gold medal and become the first snowboarder in Olympic history to win gold in three consecutive Olympics — but she stumbled in the quarterfinals and was beaten by Austria's Sabine Payer, who ultimately went on to take silver. Italy's Lucia Dalmasso claimed bronze for the hosts.

Lindsey Vonn’s sister Karin Kildow reacts following Vonn’s “scary” crash in the women’s downhill, saying it was “hard to see” but that Vonn “dared greatly” and “put it all out there” with her “whole heart.”

Breezy Johnson of Wyoming had about two hours to ponder winning the Olympic women's downhill gold medal today. That's how long it took between the time she moved into first place as the sixth racer and was confirmed as the winner, after the 36th.

As the reigning world champion in the event, Johnson had "a good feeling about today," she said. And yet, "I sort of still can’t believe it yet, I don’t know when it will sink in yet."

“I knew I had to push and go harder than I did in training. I had to be super clean and I felt like I did that.”

Johnson also said that her "heart goes out" to teammate Lindsey Vonn after her crash.

Johnson became emotional on the podium today. Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images

“I hope it’s not as bad as it looked, and I know how difficult it is to ski this course,” said Johnson, who was forced to miss the 2022 Olympics after crashing on the same course and injuring her knee. “And how sometimes, because you love this course so much, when you crash on it and it hurts you like that, it hurts that much worse.”

In terms of medal watching, all eyes are now on the men's and women's parallel giant slalom in Livigno, where we have just seen a big shock.

Czech star Ester Ledecka was looking for a historic three-peat in the women's event as she sought to be the first snowboarder ever to win golds in three consecutive Olympics. But Ledecka is out in the quarterfinals! A stumble on a turn saw Austria's Sabine Payer pip her to the finish line.

In this event, snowboarders race one-on-one to get to the bottom of the slalom course. The first one to cross the finish line wins, the loser is out.

Norway's superstar cross-country skier Johannes Klæbo has claimed gold in the men's skiathlon.

Klæbo is hoping to win a record six Olympic golds in these Games, but this race was closely contested, with Klæbo only breaking away in the final kilometer of the 20-km race. French debutant Mathis Desloges was a surprise silver medalist, while Klæbo's Norwegian teammate Martin Loewstroem Nyenget claimed bronze.

We'll next see Klæbo in action on Tuesday, when he goes for gold in the men's individual sprint.

Wyoming's Breezy Johnson became the second American woman ever to win the Olympic gold medal in downhill skiing Sunday, hours after the first person to accomplish the feat, Lindsey Vonn, crashed violently on the famed Tofane course.

Johnson finished in 1:36.1 to earn the first Olympic medal of her career. A native of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Johnson was skiing in her second Olympics.

The victory required Johnson, 30, to confront and overcome her own history of difficulty on this course. In 2022, she crashed on a training run in Cortina and tore cartilage in her right knee, forcing her to miss that year’s Olympics in Beijing. 

Read the full article here.

Team USA's first medal of the Games is assured with Breezy Johnson topping the leaderboard in the women's downhill with two skiers to go. It would take quite something for Johnson's medal not to be gold.

The party atmosphere in Cortina has fizzled out, however. The stands have started to empty and we have had another heavy crash, this time for Andorra’s Cande Moreno. She has also had to be airlifted from the course.

Over in Tesero, the men's skiathlon is underway with Norway's Johannes Høsflot Klæbo beginning an audacious bid to win six Olympic Gold medals in these Games.

Norway's Martin Loewstroem Nyenget and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo during the men's cross-country this morning. Javier Soriano / AFP - Getty Images

Klæbo has won seven Olympic medals, including five golds, in his storied career. Arguably the greatest cross-country skier of all time, he is competing in six events at these Games — and there is some serious history-making potential for the Norwegian. If he wins four gold medals at these Olympics, he would break the record for the most Olympic gold medals for a Winter Olympian. If he wins all six, he would break Eric Heiden's record for the most Olympic medals in one Winter Games.

Klæbo currently leads the skiathlon, so don't be too surprised if he starts off his gold medal haul for these Olympics today.

Lindsey Vonn's sister Karin Kildow has said Vonn "put her whole heart" into making the Milan Olympics as she reacted to the ski legend's crash.

"That's definitely the last thing we wanted to see," Kildow told NBC's Cara Banks. "When that happens, you're just immediately hoping she's OK, and it was scary. When you start to see the stretchers being put out, it's not a good sign."

"She dared greatly, and she put it all out there."

Kildow confirmed Vonn remains under medical evaluation and that the family has not heard anything beyond that.

Rapper Snoop Dogg wears a blank expression, moments after watching Team USA's Lindsey Vonn crash out of the women’s downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo this morning.

Michael Kappeler / DPA via Getty Images

Italy's Sofia Goggia was ahead of Breezy Johnson after the first timing gate, but ran wide after launching off a jump. The lost time means the silver medalist from Beijing 2022 is only quick enough for third place as of now. She was half a second behind Johnson's leading pace.

The gold medalist from Beijing, Switzerland's Corinne Suter, also fails to challenge Johnson's time.

The top 10-ranked skiers have now completed their runs — so this is looking promising for Team USA's first medal of these Games.

Lindsey Vonn is transported by helicopter after crashing in the women’s downhill event in Cortina d’Ampezzo this morning.

Francois-Xavier Marit / AFP - Getty Images

The women's downhill is back underway after about a 30-minute delay following Lindsey Vonn's crash. To recap where we're at, Team USA's Breezy Johnson is in the lead, with Germany's Emma Aicher in silver-medal position just 0:04 seconds behind.

The atmosphere in Cortina remains subdued, with Austria's Mirjam Puchner having the unenviable task of heading down the hill after Vonn's crash. Sofia Goggia, one of the standout stars from our Italian hosts, is due to follow Puchner.

Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images

Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images

Spectators look on in silence after watching Lindsey Vonn crash out of the women’s downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo this morning.

Lindsey Vonn risked a huge amount by racing today, and it was a horrible crash. She is still down on the snow and is receiving lengthy medical attention. Vonn could be heard screaming in pain after the fall, and she is being airlifted from the course.

Vonn's teammate Breezy Johnson covered her face while sitting in the leader's chair as the replay of Vonn's crash played on the big screen in the venue.

Under ideal, bluebird conditions at the craggy top of the famed Tofane course in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Vonn pushed off as the 13th woman to go down the 1.6-mile course, with 23 competitors waiting their turn behind her.

Lindsey Vonn moments before crashing out this morning. Joel Marjlund / Bildbyran via Reuters

Vonn tapped her poles together three times before pulling out of the gate. Before reaching even the first marker of the course, however, she crashed and lay motionless, and the crowd in Cortina fell silent.

The crowd then began to clap in support as a stretcher was being brought onto the course for Vonn.

Germany's Emma Aicher is ranked second in the World Cup downhill standings for this season behind Lindsey Vonn, but she cannot topple Breezy Johnson's run, missing out on the top spot by just 0:04 seconds.

Breezy Johnson is the first of the four Team USA skiers down the course, and she has taken the lead! She flies down the course in 1:36.10, over a second quicker than Ariane Raedler in second.

There's a long way to go, but a very solid run from the reigning world champion, who also posted the fastest time yesterday in the final training run.

Look who's here! Team USA ambassador Snoop Dogg — fresh from bouncing around the opening ceremony on Friday — is in Cortina to cheer on Lindsey Vonn and her fellow Team USA skiers.

The women's downhill is underway, with Switzerland's Malorie Blanc setting the benchmark at 1:38.77.

All eyes will be on Lindsey Vonn when she competes — she is due to be the 13th competitor down the course — so expect to see her in around 15 minutes or so. The reigning world champion, American Breezy Johnson, will ski sixth.

If Lindsey Vonn needs any inspiration today on how to medal at the Olympics with an ACL injury, she only needs to look toward one of her closest friends in the sport, Sofia Goggia.

The Italian is an Alpine ski legend in her own right and had the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron in Cortina during Friday's opening ceremony. At the Beijing Olympics four years ago, she won silver in the downhill, a mere 23 days after partially tearing the ACL in her left knee in a crash in Cortina.

Sofia Goggia of Italy celebrates winning silver in the women's downhill at the Beijing Olympics in 2022. Michael Kappeler / DPA via Getty Images file

It should be said that Goggia's injury ahead of Beijing was not quite as severe as the injury Vonn suffered in her crash in Switzerland nine days ago — Vonn completely tore her ACL — but nevertheless, it was a remarkable achievement for Goggia, who will be looking to win gold on home snow today.

“I always knew in my heart that with the effort it took to come back from that crash, the race itself would be the easiest part,” Goggia said after her silver in Beijing.

It has been a difficult morning for Team USA in the men's and women's qualification runs in the snowboard parallel giant slalom.

Team USA's Cody Winters, who came fifth in the World Championships last year, has failed to qualify for the finals, as has Iris Pflum, who made her Olympic debut in the women's event.

Speaking of the women, Czech superstar Ester Ledecka qualified fastest this morning. Ledecka is seeking a three-peat in this event, having taken gold in PyeongChang and Beijing. She is hoping to become the first snowboarder in Olympic history to win gold in three consecutive Olympic Games. Ledecka is also an accomplished Alpine skier — a scheduling clash means she can't compete in the downhill today, but expect her to be in the field for the super-G — for which she won gold in PyeongChang in 2018 — on Thursday.

The medal runs for both the men's and women's events will get underway at 7 a.m. ET.

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Lindsey Vonn isn't the only American woman in today's downhill field — she is one of four Americans competing this morning, with Breezy Johnson another Team USA medal hopeful.

Breezy Johnson competing in Val d'Isere, France, last year. Jeff Pachoud / AFP - Getty Images

Johnson, from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, turned 30 a couple weeks ago, and she will be looking to add Olympic gold to her win at the World Championships last year. She is competing in her second Olympic Games, having finished seventh in the downhill event at PyeongChang in 2018 before missing Beijing 2022 after injuring her knee three weeks out from the Games.

Johnson topped the timing charts in yesterday's training run.

It is 24 years since Lindsey Vonn made her Olympic debut, at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.

Then a relatively unheralded 17-year-old kid from Minnesota, Vonn — then known as Lindsey Kildow — raced in both the downhill and the team combined events. In the downhill, Vonn finished just outside the medals in fourth position — with her bib number, No. 10, hastily scribbled in black marker after she lost her original.

Reflecting on her Olympic debut last year, Vonn said, “I didn’t go into the Olympics expecting to win a medal. I was the youngest person on the team. This was an experience expedition. I was not digging for gold, so I was soaking it all up and enjoying it, and it was really an incredible experience.”

Lindsey Vonn inspects the course before the start of the women’s downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, this morning.

Christophe Pallot / Agence Zoom / Getty Images

Julian Finney / Getty Images

Lindsey Vonn being airlifted to the hospital after sustaining an injury following a crash last month. Denis Balibouse / Reuters

Lindsey Vonn will compete today, just nine days after completely rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament — the ligament that helps maintain knee stability — in a crash at her final downhill race before the Olympics.

Seconds into her run at a World Cup event in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Jan. 30, Vonn awkwardly launched off a jump, lost control, and fell hard onto her left leg as she slid into the safety nets on the side of the course. Receiving treatment, Vonn was on the ground for around five minutes before gingerly skiing to the bottom of the course, regularly clutching her knee as she did so. After limping toward a medical tent for checks, Vonn was airlifted to the hospital, where scans confirmed the extent of her injury.

The weather conditions at Crans-Montana were poor when Vonn suffered her injury — two other skiers also crashed out before Vonn's run, with falling snow causing visibility down the course to be difficult. After Vonn's crash, the event was called off before resuming the next day.

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02:08

Heading into today’s downhill race, Lindsey Vonn appears undeterred. 

Injuries put an end to her decorated racing career in 2019, but Vonn announced her comeback to the sport in late 2024. Now, a week after rupturing her ACL, she intends to compete today in what she called her "final Olympic Downhill."

In an Instagram post yesterday, Vonn said she knows “the odds are stacked against me with my age, no ACL, and a titanium knee — but know that I still believe.” 

The 41-year-old took part in two official training runs heading into today’s final, coming in 11th and third, respectively. In the second run, she finished behind American Breezy Johnson and Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann.

Whether she medals, or even posts a good time, Vonn seems to have accepted the result. 

“I will race tomorrow in my final Olympic Downhill and while I can’t guarantee a good result, I can guarantee I will give it everything I have,” she said in the post. “But no matter what happens, I have already won.”

Lindsey Vonn is set to race this morning. Here’s when you can see her, along with the rest of the day’s lineup. 

All times are in Eastern, and asterisks mean it’s a medal event:

3 a.m.: snowboard, women’s parallel giant slalom

3:30 a.m.: snowboard, men’s parallel giant slalom

4:05 a.m.: curling, mixed doubles round-robin (Norway vs. Czechia, Norway vs. Estonia)

5:30 a.m.: Alpine skiing, women’s downhill*