'IF YOU LET FEAR START RUNNING THE SHOW, YOU CAN JUST FORGET HOW TO SKI'

Alpine skier Breezy Johnson is returning to the mountain where her last Olympic bid was derailed, hoping this time it ends with a medal

- BY MANDY TAHERI

Johnson overcame injury to be back in the Dolomites competing for an Olympic medal.

TEAM USA SKI RACER BREEZY JOHNSON IS HEADING BACK TO Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy’s Dolomites where her Olympic dream was upended four years ago.

One month ahead of the 2022 Beijing Games, Johnson crashed while training in Cortina, tearing her right knee and causing severe cartilage damage. The incident forced her to withdraw from the Winter Games and sent her on a monthslong recovery journey.

“My issue with Cortina has been that I can generate speed really quickly on that hill and it often gets out of my control,” Johnson tells Newsweek from nearby San Pellegrino.

The crash wasn’t her first career setback. Johnson had previously suffered several other knee injuries, including ACL, MCL and PCL tears, underscoring the brutal physical toll of elite ski racing. Despite each injury, Johnson has repeatedly found her way back to the start gate and was crowned the International Ski and Snowboard Federation women’s downhill world champion last year.

Born Breanna Noble Johnson in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, she was on skis by age 3. The nickname “Breezy” stuck early, a natural moniker for a racer whose personal motto is “like the wind,” a nod to the element she channels down the hill.

But speed, while required for downhill and super-G racing, isn’t Johnson's favorite part of the sport—in fact, sometimes it’s the part she likes least.

“Those high speeds are what eat us up and spit us out,” Johnson tells