Former Olympic downhill champ Bill Johnson dies at age of 55

Bill Johnson, the 1984 Olympic downhill champion who helped spark US alpine ski racing, died Thursday night at an OR assisted living facility aged 55, the US Ski team announced.

More recently he suffered from a series of strokes.

Johnson captured the storied Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen at just 23-years-old, marking the first American men’s World Cup downhill win in the modern era. He attempted a comeback in 2001, at age 40, but crashed while training and was critically injured. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article. “So for sure, an inspiration and for Americans definitely a legend in the sport”. He barely survived, suffering critical injuries, and spent three weeks in a coma. For some reason, Americans have done well in Olympic downhills, with him, Bode (Miller) and Tommy Moe.

Andrew Weibrecht, 2014 Winter Olympics super-G silver medalist, credited Johnson with helping the United States develop into a skiing superpower.

Johnson also won a World Cup downhill at Aspen the same year he grabbed that first Olympic gold in Sarajevo, and he forever changed expectations for US men in the White Circus.

However, he subsequently fell out with U.S. skiing officials.

The American ski community, aware of Johnson’s ill health, celebrated his 55th birthday previous year by sending him videos, notes and messages.

Johnson grew up racing on Mount Hood and in Bogus Basin, Idaho.

“As a teammate of Bill Johnson during a very successful period of U.S. Ski Team history, I had the utmost respect for his accomplishments as an athlete”, The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) President and CEO Tiger Shaw told the U.S. ski team website. In recent years, medical complications increased and he was confined to an assisted living facility.