Read the full article on KETV 7
Lindsey Vonn’s fairy tale Olympics came to *** brutal stop on the downhill course. She had said that her goal was to make it to the starting gate, but she didn’t make it much farther. It seemed almost too good to be true. 9 days after rupturing her left ACL, Lindsey Vonn met her goal of starting the downhill race. 13th on the start list and just 13 seconds into her run, Vonn clipped *** gate, spun around, and crashed hard, leaving fans watching, gasping. It was just Shocking how fast it happened and how early in the run. You think it’s 90 seconds she’s got it. She’s done all this prep. It’s *** great story. And then for it to fall apart in 15 seconds was heartbreaking. Vaughn had to be airlifted from the course while the competition went on hold and her teammates watched. Her coach said that she was cheering for me in the helicopter, so I hope, I hope for the best for her. I hope that it’s not too bad. And yeah, I mean my Aches for her. It’s such *** brutal sport sometimes. American Breezy Johnson, the world champion in downhill, took Olympic gold, Team USA’s first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics. I hope that we can keep this ball rolling, and yeah, I mean, I guess it’s exciting and *** little bit surreal to be the first one or whatever. The Fellow Americans Jackie Wild came in 4th and Bella Wright came in 21st at the Milan Cortina Olympics. I’m Juha Fitzpatrick.
Advertisement
Chloe Kim’s first truly meaningful ride through a halfpipe in almost 11 months will come at no place other than the Olympics.That feels daunting, even for one of the best snowboarders in the world, whose lead-up to the Games took a detour when she injured her shoulder during a training run in Switzerland the second week of January.“I have so much anxiety,” Kim said Monday, two days before she begins her quest to win a third straight gold medal. “But thankfully I have matcha (tea), and there’s good vibes here, and my family’s here, so we’ll be good.”Related video above: Breezy Johnson wins gold as Lindsey Vonn crashes in Olympic downhillThe 25-year-old American said she returned to the halfpipe about two weeks ago and is wearing a brace on her left shoulder that, “in a funny way … made my riding better.”Her coach, Rick Bower, told The Associated Press that practices have been going well since Kim returned to the snow.“Clearly, it’s not an ideal situation, but all things considered, the work she’s put in over the last 15 years, she’s in a place where she can deal with it,” he said. “Though it’s not what we’d like, the riding is at the point to where she can still compete for gold.”Kim spoke of the mental reboot she was able to enjoy, in large part by winning a contest in Aspen in January 2025 that put her on the Olympic team more than a year before the Games. She won world championships two months after that, then took time off.Her plan was to ease into the Olympic season — lots of practice, followed by one competition in Copper Mountain, Colo., in December, then another in Laax, Switzerland, in January.She made it through the low-pressure qualifying round at Copper Mountain, but fell and injured her shoulder while getting ready for the final. She rebounded from that, but suffered the more serious injury almost exactly a month before she jumps into the halfpipe in Italy.It leaves the one run in Copper Mountain as the only scored run Kim has made since last March. She said often, muscle memory overcomes the nerves once she drops in.“I feel confident,” Kim said. “I feel really good about how I’m feeling physically and mentally, and that’s most important right now.”When healthy, Kim would be the clear favorite even in a sport that is advancing quickly. Korea’s 17-year-old Gaon Choi has been ramping up the difficulty and could pose the greatest threat to Kim’s three-peat.But Kim herself has always led the way on the halfpipe. She said her big run this week is one she’s never done. It will be a tougher version of what she won with in Beijing — tricks involving riding backward and forward and spinning in both directions off those approaches.“If I’m able to pull that off, regardless of where I place, I’ll be really content with that,” Kim said.
Chloe Kim’s first truly meaningful ride through a halfpipe in almost 11 months will come at no place other than the Olympics.
That feels daunting, even for one of the best snowboarders in the world, whose lead-up to the Games took a detour when she injured her shoulder during a training run in Switzerland the second week of January.
Advertisement
“I have so much anxiety,” Kim said Monday, two days before she begins her quest to win a third straight gold medal. “But thankfully I have matcha (tea), and there’s good vibes here, and my family’s here, so we’ll be good.”
Related video above: Breezy Johnson wins gold as Lindsey Vonn crashes in Olympic downhill
The 25-year-old American said she returned to the halfpipe about two weeks ago and is wearing a brace on her left shoulder that, “in a funny way … made my riding better.”
Her coach, Rick Bower, told The Associated Press that practices have been going well since Kim returned to the snow.
“Clearly, it’s not an ideal situation, but all things considered, the work she’s put in over the last 15 years, she’s in a place where she can deal with it,” he said. “Though it’s not what we’d like, the riding is at the point to where she can still compete for gold.”
Kim spoke of the mental reboot she was able to enjoy, in large part by winning a contest in Aspen in January 2025 that put her on the Olympic team more than a year before the Games. She won world championships two months after that, then took time off.
Her plan was to ease into the Olympic season — lots of practice, followed by one competition in Copper Mountain, Colo., in December, then another in Laax, Switzerland, in January.
She made it through the low-pressure qualifying round at Copper Mountain, but fell and injured her shoulder while getting ready for the final. She rebounded from that, but suffered the more serious injury almost exactly a month before she jumps into the halfpipe in Italy.
It leaves the one run in Copper Mountain as the only scored run Kim has made since last March. She said often, muscle memory overcomes the nerves once she drops in.
“I feel confident,” Kim said. “I feel really good about how I’m feeling physically and mentally, and that’s most important right now.”
When healthy, Kim would be the clear favorite even in a sport that is advancing quickly. Korea’s 17-year-old Gaon Choi has been ramping up the difficulty and could pose the greatest threat to Kim’s three-peat.
But Kim herself has always led the way on the halfpipe. She said her big run this week is one she’s never done. It will be a tougher version of what she won with in Beijing — tricks involving riding backward and forward and spinning in both directions off those approaches.
“If I’m able to pull that off, regardless of where I place, I’ll be really content with that,” Kim said.
