One of the best American downhill skiers will not be competing in the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Breezy Johnson, a favorite in the event, has pulled out of the Games due to injury. She fell twice while training recently and, after getting evaluated, decided it was best to not go to for gold in China.
Johnson made the announcement on Thursday via social media.
“Sorry, guys, I just can’t … I wanted so badly to realize my dream of becoming an Olympic Champion. To bask in the glow of that sunset,” she wrote. “But the reality is that the risks, and there are always risks, are no longer worth it.”
She first fell during training on Jan. 8, cutting her knee. Johnson then fell again two weeks later and when she did, she said she “immediately felt a massive crack.”
Johnson described the injury by writing that a “large chunk of cartilage” in her knee is “partially dislodged.” Overall, she just did not feel there was enough time to adequately recover in order to compete in the Olympics, which kick off on Feb. 4.
Heading into 2022, Johnson was second in skiing’s downhill World Cup and was a top competitor for Beijing, skiing the fastest she ever has.
