Ski legend Lindsey Vonn’s supportive message to Breezy Johnson emerges after her Olympic gold victory

American viewers experienced a range of emotions during the women's downhill final at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. When Lindsey Vonn was taken away in a yellow helicopter on February 8, after a severe crash, the crowd went from cheering to dead silence. In contrast, her colleague Breezy Johnson was at the top of the podium and went on to win the gold medal. And there was nothing, but only one thing that existed between the two was respect.

According to TNT Sports, Vonn’s coach, Aksel Lund Svindal, shared a tribute post on social media that highlighted the 41-year-old's level of selflessness. While she was yelling for help after the horrific incident, the American had a message to deliver to the entire world, particularly her team: “Tell Breezy congrats and good job,” she said, as her teammate took the lead.

Lindsey Vonn’s coach shares a heartwarming post after her crash

Svindal wrote in the Instagram post, “Lindsey. You’re incredibly brave. You inspire people who follow your journey and us who work closely with you every day. Yesterday was a tough day on the mountain. For everyone, but most of all for you. Still, something happened that I think says everything.”

He added, “Your teammate was in the lead, and that’s the message you wanted the US ski team coaches to remember before you got airlifted to the hospital. Real character shows up in the hard moments.”

The gesture highlighted Vonn's genuine sportsmanship, which she embodies. The 41-year-old tore her ACL completely in late January but was still determined to compete at the Olympic Games. However, she hit the gate with her right ski pole while running, and because it happened right around the initial jump, the skier lost control and fell on the snow.


Among those in the grandstands, which also included the Vonn family, there is a huge concern. A few hours later, Lindsey Vonn was confirmed to have had surgery for a broken left leg and to be in stable condition. And while suffering from severe pain, she also wanted to convey a message about her teammate’s success.

Johnson became the second American woman to win an Olympic gold in the downhill final with this win. Indeed, it was Vonn only who took that first gold in the category way back at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

Johnson stated following her victory, “People are jealous of people with Olympic gold medals. They’re not necessarily jealous of the journey it took to get those medals. I don’t think my journey is something that people are envious of. It’s been a tough road, but sometimes you just have to keep going because that’s the only option. If you’re going through hell, you keep walking.”

Supportive prayers came for Lindsey Vonn

Breezy Johnson joined other athletes praying for Vonn’s recovery, as she said, “I don’t have anything except that her coach said that she was cheering for me in the helicopter. I hope that it’s not too bad. My heart aches for her. It’s such a brutal sport sometimes.”

Mikaela Shiffrin stated she was speechless and said, “��������” Retired ski legend Tina Maze also chimed in, stating, “We all know the difficulties that Lindsey was going through these last days, and to come to the race, I think she just leveled up too much and risked too much, and that’s why this kind of crash can happen.”

Lindsey Vonn’s final Olympics ended in a motivational message for her fellow Team USA skier. This showed that her legacy isn’t just defined by medals but also by aesthetics.





Get the latest ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 updates, including the full schedule, teams, live scores, points table, and key series stats such as top run-scorers and wicket-takers.