Her top speed of 86 mph (138.51 kph) was among the fastest ever recorded by a woman in an Alpine skiing race.

The 38 yards (35 metres) that she soared off the big Panorama jump midway down matched how far the men leap off the famed Hundschopf at Wengen in Switzerland.

American skier Breezy Johnson was literally flying in the women’s downhill at the world championships on Saturday in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.

“Like the Wind” — her personal motto.

And even though she was the first racer down, Johnson immediately knew she had done something special, celebrating her run with fist pumps and turning to salute the crowd in every direction.

About 1 1/2 hours later, Johnson was still saluting the crowd of 15,800 fans who had packed the stands and lined the Ulli Maier course. On the top step of the podium. A “Weltmeisterin” (world champion) in Austria, the home of ski racing.

Not a bad way to earn your first victory.

WATCH | Johnson sets a gold-medal pace to claim the world downhill title:

“I was psyched because I knew that I had skied my best,” the 29-year-old Johnson said. “I’m just going to enjoy this because I’ve had a lot of times where I gave my best and I didn’t win. … You have to be happy with your own skiing or your existence becomes very sad very quickly.”

Johnson finished 0.15 seconds ahead of silver medallist Mirjam Puchner of Austria and 0.21 ahead of bronze medallist Ester Ledecka, the Czech athlete who has won Olympic golds in both skiing and snowboarding.

Lauren Macuga, the American who took bronze in super-G two days earlier, finished fifth. And 40-year-old Lindsey Vonn was 15th.

Canada’s Cassidy Gray was the final skier down the course, finishing in 25th place. The Invermere, B.C., native was 3.63 seconds behind Johnson’s winning time.

Live streaming coverage through the alpine ski world championships event will be available on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.

Gray told CBC Sports reporter Devin Heroux that she’s savouring her experience at the world championships, despite this being only her fourth-ever downhill race.

“I’m not a downhill skier, so I’m excited to do some of the events with a bit more turns in them, but this was a great experience,” Gray said.

“I’ve found sections [of the course] that I’m starting to get better at, I’ve felt a lot of improvement during the training runs and I still have the team combined coming up so I hope to just keep getting better and better as I go.”

WATCH | Cassidy Gray finishes 25th in women’s downhill:

Canada’s Cassidy Gray finishes 25th in women’s world championship downhill

The lone Canadian and last skier to go down the mountain, Cassidy Gray of Invermere, B.C., finished in 25th place in the women’s downhill race, at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.

Vonn (in 2009), Hilary Lindh (in 1997) and Picabo Street (in 1996) are the only other American women to win gold in downhill at worlds.

As the victory began to sink in, Johnson grew emotional as she considered the past few years of her career.

The Jackson Hole, Wyo., native was on the verge of victory when she recorded three second-place World Cup results over a one-year period ending in December 2021. Then a crash a month later ruled her out of the 2022 Beijing Olympics with a knee injury.

WATCH | Vonn reflects on her comeback to alpine skiing at worlds:

‘I don’t need to prove anything to anyone’: Lindsey Vonn reflects on her comeback to alpine skiing at worlds

CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux interviews American skier Lindsey Vonn following the women’s downhill run.

Before the next season, Johnson came out as bisexual. She posted on Instagram at that time: “To those people out there who feel a little different and want to see people like them at the top I am here to represent that we are out there, we are normal, and we can do whatever we want.”

But Johnson was then sidelined again when she missed three anti-doping exams and violated “whereabouts” rules that oblige athletes to detail where they can be found for one hour each day to give samples. The violation resulted in a 14-month ban that expired two months ago.

After her victory Saturday, Johnson said the first missed test “was my fault.” For the second one she said she texted her whereabouts to the wrong number. Then for the third missed test, she said “there was a glitch on the app.

“I think a lot of athletes would agree with me to say that it’s a very challenging system,” Johnson said. “I acknowledge that I could have done better.”

WATCH | Canada’s Gray tells CBC Sports she’s savouring her experience at worlds:

Canada’s Cassidy Gray savouring alpine world ski championships experience

CBC Sports’ Devin Heroux spoke with Cassidy Gray of Invermere, B.C., after her 25th place finish in the women’s world championship downhill race. The giant slalom skier says she’s enjoying the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, after missing out on the 2023 world championships.

Downhill standout Sofia Goggia was unforgiving in her assessment of Johnson’s ban, though.

“We have availability every day. Every night, I have to say where I sleep and I have to give the time slot. I set it between 5 and 6 in the morning and this year at Christmas they came to ring my bell,” Goggia, who finished 16th, said Saturday. “We have rules to follow. We stick to the procedure. Period.”

While she was out, Johnson was not allowed to train with the U.S. team. So she funded her own training in Jackson Hole and in the Alps and hired her own coach, Stefan Abplanalp, as well as experts at setting up training courses.

“Those people really helped me a ton and obviously it was a little bit lonely. But it brought more people into the village,” Johnson said. “So this is also for them.”

Perhaps because of her ban, Johnson has no sponsor on her headgear.

The gold medal might change that, though.

The race was held exactly one year before the Milano-Cortina Olympics women’s downhill, which will be on the track in Cortina d’Ampezzo where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins and where Jacqueline Wiles, another active American, has finished on the podium twice.

Wiles was also fast before she went off course during her run Saturday.

“We have such a strong team and it’s so cool to be able to do it on a world stage,” Macuga said. “Next year in Cortina I think it might be pretty exciting.”

The U.S. team is also well poised for Sunday’s men’s downhill, with Ryan Cochran-Siegle having led two of the three training sessions.

“When I’m feeling confident, I feel like I do a good job of stacking the ski at the top of the turn and really driving in and creating power,” said Cochran-Siegle, the Olympic silver medallist in super-G. “I feel like that the tempo is familiar to me. … The light is nice. Just a good venue overall for me.”

WATCH | Full replay of Saturday’s women’s downhill:

FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Saalbach 2025: Women’s downhill

Watch the women’s downhill race at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.