With bib number 1 Breezy Johnson delivers the performance of a lifetime to win Downhill gold at Saalbach 2025 Alpine World Ski Championships, the first major title of her career, just weeks after returning from a 14-month ban. The 29-year-old American skier, whose career has been marred by injuries, has achieved seven World Cup podium finishes, but has never won a World Cup race. Her best results came in 2021 and 2022. In 2021 Johnson finished on the podium four times, taking third place in both Val d'Isere Downhills, St. Anton, and Crans Montana. In 2022 she got back-to-back second-place finishes in Lake Louise and another second-place finish in Val d'Isere.
"I was just trying to hammer, stay in the low tuck, and execute all of my things. It's definitely a fast course in places. It was fun. I was just kind of moving, you know, section to section and just trying to execute my plan. I was psyched because I knew that I had skied my best. I'm just gonna enjoy this. Because I've had a lot of times where, you know, I gave my best and I didn't win,” Johnson said.
Mirjam Puchner finished second to the delight of the 15,800 Austrian ski fans just 0.15 seconds behind Johnson. It is her second medal at a major event after silver at the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022.
"Winning silver at the World Championships at home is extremely cool. I think it will take me a while to realize it all. How often do you get the chance to go to a home World Championship and then win a medal? I don't think there's a better place to do it," Puchner said.
After disappointing results this season, her best result of the season was tenth place in the downhill in Cortina, the 32-year-old Austrian skier showed in the training sessions and in the race that the Ulli Maier race course in Saalbach suits her.
“After the training sessions, many people said I was the favorite. Everyone said it’s a great slope for me and I like it very much, it’s a slope that includes everything. I tried to make a reset, a new start at the World Champs, and it was great," she added.
Stephanie Venier's gold in the Super-G, along with silver medals for Mirjam Puchner in the Downhill and Raphael Haaser in the Super-G, has already made the speed competitions a success for the Austrian Team.
Olympic Champion Ester Ledecka rounded up the podium 0.21 seconds behind the US skier. It’s her first Alpine World Ski Championships medal and the first-ever Czech medal in Downhill.
“You know in snowboarding I already had two World Championship gold medals and one silver so now the collection is complete with bronze from Downhill skiing,” Ledecka said.
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