Industry News
There were a lot of hot contenders for the title of Downhill World Champion this Saturday, February 8, but it was an underdog who took the victory on the Zwölferkogel course in Saalbach, Austria. USA’s Breezy Johnson claimed victory ahead of home favorite Mirjam Puchner in second place and Czechia’s Ester Ledecka in third place.
U.S. Breezy Johnson had the honor of opening the Downhill race in bib,1 and the American, who had also shown strong results in the training runs, coming second twice and sixth once, leading up to the competition, set a fast pace—as it turns out the fastest for the day. At a record speed of 138.5 kilometers per hour (86.5 miles per hour), Johsnons also managed to beat her own best training runs. The American crossed the finish line in 1:41.29 minutes, which was a time that proved to be impossible to beat.
Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann in bib 2 could not match the American’s pace, crossing 1.64 seconds behind Johnson, leaving a big gap for other subsequent racers to slot into. Italy’s Nicol Delago in bib 3 was the first such skier to squeeze into the gap, 0.76 seconds behind Johnson. While the Italian was faster on the top section, she did not quite get the maximum speed the American had achieved. Meanwhile, France’s Laura Gauche finished almost a second behind Weidle-Winkelmann in what was ultimately 20th place.
Next up was Czechia’s Ester Ledecka in bib 5, who had been fastest in yesterday’s training. The 2018 Olympic Super-G Champion was one of the wildcards for today. The Czech has the ability to rally at big events, and Ledecka was half a second ahead of Johnson on the top section, looking like she could take her first World Championship title. However, Ledecka lost time on the mid-section and skied across the finish line 0.21 seconds behind the American, in what was ultimately third place but second place at the time.
Slovakia’s Ilka Stuhec could not get close to Ledecka or Johnson, finishing 1.31 seconds behind the leader, while Austria’s Cornelia Hütter looked dangerously close with more than half a second lead on the top. Like Ledecka before her, however, the Austrian in bib 7 could not master the mid-section at the same pace as Johnson and finished 0.34 seconds behind Johnson in what was third at the time. However, her teammate Mirjam Puchner in bib 9 demoted her to what was ultimately fourth place with the second-fastest run of the day. Puchner, who had been strong in training, crossed the finish line just 0.15 seconds behind Johnson in second place. Puchner managed to stay low on the entire course, delivering her an aerodynamic and smooth run. The Austrian had a 0.16-second lead on Johnson on the top section but, like all the other skiers before her, could not quite carry the momentum into the bottom section.
Eagle-eyed readers might be wondering about bib 8: Lara Gut-Behrami recorded a DNF after the Swiss skier had looked strong on the top of the course. She made a mistake after a smaller roller on the course that ended her bid for Downhill glory on the mid-section. Norway’s Kajsa Lie in bib 10, who had claimed an equal third place with Lauren Macuga in the Super-G, failed to endanger the top rankings, finishing behind Weidle-Winkelmann. The other Super-G medallists from Thursday, Federica Brignone in bib 14, Stephanie Venier in bib 15, and Lauren Macuga in bib 18, failed to shake up the top three ranking, despite strong runs on the Zwölferkogel course. Other strong contenders for a podium, like Italy’s Sofia Goggia in bib 12 or Switzerland’s Corinne Suter, also failed to unseat Johnson.
America’s Macuga deserves a special mention, as Thursday’s Bronze medallist showed incredible form, taking the lead on the top section by 0.29 seconds. While she could not quite carry that speed into the mid-section, with the fifth fastest time on the high-speed section at 137.4 kilometers per hour (85.9 miles per hour), the 22-year-old finished the race a mere 0.38 seconds behind Johnson, cementing her reputation as a top podium contender in the speed disciplines this season. Teammate Jacqui Wiles, unfortunately, recorded a DNF, while Lindsey Vonn in bib 21 finished the World Championship in 15th place, just 0.01 seconds ahead of her good friend Goggia. Vonn had been struggling with the flu and skipped the course inspection today, however, still showed top form.
- Related: USA’s Lauren Macuga Claims Historic Super-G Victory at FIS Alpine World Cup in St. Anton, Austria
With most of the top podium contenders out of the way, Johnson’s smile in the leader’s seat in the finish area was growing wider and wider. The last wildcard to shake up things was Germany’s Emma Aicher in bib 30, who was the only skier out of the last 12 skiers to come close to endangering Johnson’s victory. The 21-year-old was leading by 0.34 seconds on the top section. She carried the top speed down into the jump but could not quite maintain the momentum into the bottom section, finishing 0.48 seconds behind Johnson in what was sixth place, 0.10 seconds behind Macuga.
As the last skier crossed the finish line, the incredible news sank in for Johnson, who started crying in the leader’s seat in the finish area. While they were tears of joy, they showed the overwhelming emotions the 29-year-old was going through as the reality set in that she had just won her first-ever international race. With 104 World Cup and World Championship starts to her name and not a single victory, a slew of injuries, and a missed season due to a 14-month ban, Johnson’s day had finally arrived. “I came to Cortina for my second World Championships. I hip-checked and I won three splits, but that was not gonna work with a hip check, so I didn’t walk away with a medal,” Johnson said in an interview. “Then I came into Meribel with the green light, and I fell, so it’s been a long time coming. But if you keep trying, then maybe one day you’ll get it.”
Johnson credited her team with her victory, emphasizing the strong team spirit in the U.S. Alpine team. “We try to build each other up, and we try to help each other, and I think that that typically breeds a fast ski environment,” Johnson stressed, “It definitely breeds a happy ski environment,” she added. Johnson’s victory is the crowning moment thus far on a successful U.S. World Championship campagin, following Lauren Macuga’s third place in the Super-G on Thursday, February 6, and Team USA’s fourth place in the Team Parallel event on the opening day on Tuesday, February 4.
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