Olympic champion Sofia Goggia won her third consecutive World Cup downhill race, while Breezy Johnson joined an exclusive group of U.S. women to make four consecutive World Cup downhill podiums.
The Italian Goggia won by two tenths of a second over Olympic super-G champion Ester Ledecká of the Czech Republic in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on Friday. Goggia became the first woman to win three consecutive World Cup downhills since Lindsey Vonn in 2018.
Johnson was .57 behind in a race that was delayed due to overnight snowfall and had its start moved down due to winds.
Johnson, a 25-year-old who had zero World Cup podiums before this season, has finished third in all four of the downhills contested so far.
“It’s definitely getting funny. I think funny’s the proper adjective for it,” Johnson said of the streak. “I’m still very excited about the results and the third places, but I’m definitely eyeing the other positions [on the podium].”
Johnson became the fourth American woman to make four World Cup downhill podiums in a row, joining Olympic gold medalists Vonn, Julia Mancuso and Picabo Street.
The Idaho native’s surge came after she fought back to return from significant leg injuries in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
“I’ve been patient about not having a podium for, like, four years on the World Cup,” Johnson said. “So now I just need to be patient about the second place and the first place.”
The women race another downhill on Saturday, with Vonn making her TV analyst debut. A full TV and live stream schedule is here.
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