Breezy Johnson's Olympic Gold Medal Immediately Broke, She Reveals: 'Do Not Jump in Them'

NEED TO KNOW

• Breezy Johnson revealed that her new Olympic gold medal immediately broke
• The 30-year-old skier held a "show-and-tell" with reporters to show the three pieces
• Johnson won the women's downhill skiing event, earning Team USA's first medal, and first gold, of the 2026 Winter Olympics

Breezy Johnson's new hardware is already in need of repair.

Moments after the alpine skier was awarded her gold medal for winning the women's downhill event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, it broke in three pieces, Johnson, 30, revealed at a press conference on Sunday, Feb. 8.

When Germany's Emma Aicher, who won silver, joined her at the medalists' presser, Johnson could be seen pulling out her medal and warning Aicher, "Do NOT jump in them."

Johnson was later asked to confirm if her medal had broken, which she turned into a "show and tell."

"So there’s the medal. And there’s the ribbon," she told reporters, including PEOPLE. "And here’s the little piece that is supposed to go into the ribbon to hold the medal, and yeah, it came apart."

Johnson won the U.S.'s first gold, and first medal, of the Milan Cortina Games on Sunday by a margin of 0.04 seconds. It's a huge achievement for the skier, who finished seventh in the same event at the 2018 Pyongchang Games, and sat out at Beijing in 2022 due to injury.

"I was telling my mom a week ago... you go to your second Olympic Games to win a medal, and you go to your third Games to win the whole damn thing, so it's really special," she said at the press conference. "This is the third team I've made and obviously it didn't go to plan on the second one, but I'm really excited to see what all of Team USA is capable of."

Johnson's win, though, was slightly overshadowed by teammate Lindsey Vonn's scary crash. But even in moments of extreme pain, Vonn was thinking about Johnson.

“Her coach said she was cheering for me in the helicopter, so I hope for the best for her," Johnson said. "I hope that it’s not too bad. My heart aches for her. It’s such a brutal sport sometimes.”

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. Watch the Milan Cortina Olympics and Paralympics, beginning Feb. 6, on NBC and Peacock.

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