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Bill Johnson, Olympic gold medalist and the first American men’s World Cup downhill champion in the modern era, has passed away at the age of 55, according to a press release by the the US Ski Team.
Johnson won the Olympic gold medal in downhill ski racing at Sarajevo in 1984. That same year he also won the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, and closed the season with wins in Whistler, BC and Aspen, CO, according to the US Ski Team.
He was known for being a rebel and shaking things up. A confident champion, he was quoted telling the press, "you can start writing your story. This course was designed for me, and everyone else is here to fight for second place," of the '84 olympics.
In 2001, Johnson was critically injured in a crash at The Big Mountain near Whitefish, MT during the U.S. Alpine Championships. "He remained in a coma for three weeks before regaining consciousness. While he did ski again after the accident, his racing career was over. In recent years, medical complications increased and he was confined to an assisted living facility," said the US Ski Team.
Johnson was in an assisted living facility near Portland, OR at the time of his death.
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Our thoughts are with his friends and loved ones, and the US Ski Team.
The 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo, photo credit: Wikipedia
