Breezy Johnson Reveals Her Olympic Gold Medal Broke After Ceremony

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Breezy Johnson is sliding from one snowy hurdle to another.

The gold medal won by the alpine skier snapped off its ribbon shortly after her victory in the women’s downhill event at the 2026 Winter Olympics on February 8th.

“Please don’t jump around while wearing them,” Breezy explained to reporters after the ceremony, holding up the broken medal. “I was jumping for joy and it fell apart.” She then showed the camera the detached medal, ribbon, and the small piece that connects them. “It just came loose,” she said.

Although it was a surprising accident, the 30-year-old athlete—who earned Team USA’s first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games—said her medal won’t always look this way.

“I’m sure someone will fix it,” she joked. “It’s not crazy broken, but it’s a little broken.”

Breezy’s recent victory is especially meaningful considering the challenges she’s overcome. She was unable to compete in the downhill event at the 2022 Winter Olympics because of a knee injury. While training in Italy, she felt a significant crack in her knee and later learned she had damaged a large piece of cartilage.

Four years ago, at her first Olympics in Pyeongchang, she finished seventh. While that wasn’t a top result, she’s thrilled to be showing the world how far she’s come and the progress she’s made in her return to competition.

I told my mom last week that by your second Olympics, you’re aiming for a medal, and by your third, you’re going for the gold. So making this third Olympic team feels amazing,” she said in a recent press conference. “This is the third time I’ve qualified, and while the second Olympics didn’t go as planned, I’m really looking forward to seeing what Team USA can achieve.”

Breezy, competing for Team USA, secured the gold medal after overcoming a difficult relationship with the downhill course – a course that saw fellow competitor Lindsey Vonn injured. Breezy explained that she had to rediscover her passion for the course. In her post-race interview, she shared that the things we love can sometimes cause us the most pain, and that facing that pain is part of achieving success. She emphasized that even beautiful things can be challenging, and it’s up to us to push through those challenges.

She explained that she’s been working for the past four years to take responsibility for things, and that effort finally resulted in success today.

Keep reading to see more empowering moments at the 2026 Olympics so far…

Lindsey Vonn, a U.S. skier, showed her determination while training on February 6th, just days after suffering a torn ACL in a crash.

On February 6th, Alysa Liu, representing the United States, performed a Biellmann spin during her short program in the women’s single skating event.

Jennifer Dodds of Team Great Britain looked intensely focused during the curling mixed doubles round robin match against South Korea on February 6th.

On February 6th, Snoop Dogg, working as an Olympics correspondent for NBC, gave curling a try during a practice session.

On February 6th, figure skating partners Evan Bates and Madison Chock, who are also a couple in real life, performed a beautiful and synchronized rhythm dance.

On February 5th, Laila Edwards, the first Black woman to play hockey for the U.S. in the Olympics, competed against Sara Cajanova of the Czech Republic during the game between the United States and the Czech Republic.

On February 5th, Australian snowboarder Valentino Guseli embraced Czech athlete Jakub Hrones after competing in the men’s snowboard big air qualifying round.

Bulgarian ski jumper Vladimir Zografski hits the brakes during a Feb. 5 training session.

Oh my gosh, I was screaming when Korey Dropkin and his team absolutely crushed Switzerland in that mixed doubles curling match on February 5th! It was incredible – you could just feel the excitement when they won! I’ve been following Korey forever, and seeing that victory shout? Pure gold!

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2026-02-09 18:17