"It was a bit lonely"

After a ban, there’s now a windfall for World Championship sensation

Breezy Johnson (right) celebrates with Mirjam Puchner.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Breezy Johnson is downhill world champion! The 29-year-old has repeatedly had to overcome major hurdles in her career. Johnson was banned until December 10 due to doping test reporting violations and had to prepare at her own expense. Now there's a windfall.

Johnson has yet to win a race in the World Cup, but at the World Championships in Austria she won her special race. With second, second and sixth place in the downhill training sessions, she had already shown that the course suited her. With bib number 1, the American raced ahead of the competition, especially in the middle and final sections. "Everyone has been telling me all year how good I'm going to be in Saalbach, how much the Austrians have me on their radar in Saalbach," said Johnson. "I love the downhill, the variety, all the different slopes. Maybe it's just that this slope likes me."

Breezy Johnson (right) celebrates together with Mirjam Puchner.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

61,000 euros as welcome prize money
When she arrived at the finish line, she didn't speculate that a medal might be on the cards. "I just knew I had shown my best skiing," said Johnson. "I was just happy with my skiing, and I was happy because the crowd here is incredible." The new world champion also shares a friendship with Avital Carroll, who was born and raised in the USA. "I love Avital. When she won her two World Championship bronze medals, I was so happy for her. She's my best friend."

Avital Carroll

(Bild: APA/EXPA/JOHANN GRODER)

Due to several cruciate ligament ruptures, Johnson was unable to compete in a World Cup race for almost two years in a row. Last year, she had to prepare for the new season away from the US team due to her ban. "I got my own coach, Stefan Abplanalp, who works for Swiss media. He put together a team, Saas Fee and Switzerland helped me a lot to organize training sessions. But of course it was a bit lonely," she reported. To ensure good preparation, she had spent a total of around 200,000 US dollars. The 57,600 Swiss francs (61,160 euros) in prize money for the World Championship title is very welcome in this context.

"Complicated system"
 She is happy to be back on the road with the US team. Lauren Macuga has already won a medal in Saalbach with super-G bronze, Lindsey Vonn is back and the mood is good. "We travel around together all the time, it would be terrible if we were just at each other's throats the whole time," said Johnson, who came out as bisexual on social media before the 2022/23 World Cup season.

She emphasized that she doesn't feel anything like satisfaction. "I'm not here to prove anything to anyone. That's not the point." She has accepted her punishment for three missed doping tests, although she has not yet fully digested it. "I never had a problem with being tested, not at any time. But it's a complicated system and people are better at doing doping tests than programming apps," she said. "Now I've fought my way all the way back. I had to start outside the top 30 as well."