2026 Winter Olympics live updates: Lindsey Vonn crashes just seconds race; Breezy Johnson takes gold

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 this 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.

Ledecka during the women's parallel giant slalom in Livigno today. Jeff Pachoud / AFP - Getty Images

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 kilometre of the 20km race. French debutant Mahis 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. 

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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 horror 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 okay, 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 have 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 was played out 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-long 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 top spot by just 0:04 seconds.

Breezy Johnson is the first of the four Team USA skiiers 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. 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 towards 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.

Relive the best moments from the second day of the figure skating team event, including Yuma Kagiyama and Ilia Malinin in the men’s short program and Madison Chock and Evan Bates competing in the free dance.

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 of 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's form on the World Cup circuit this season has been indifferent, but she did top 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 towards 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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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*