Germany’s Aicher wins Olympic ski silver as Vonn crashes

German skier Emma Aicher won silver in a dramatic Olympic downhill race in Italy’s Cortina d’Ampezzo on Sunday, securing Germany’s first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

However, celebrations on the podium were somewhat overshadowed after US star Lindsey Vonn suffered a fall and was taken to the hospital.

How did Germany win its first medal of the games?

Aicher finished second in the downhill, earning a silver for Germany.

The 22-year-old was beaten by just 0.04 seconds by US world champion Breezy Johnson, who clinched gold. Italy’s Sofia Goggia took bronze in front of a home crowd.

The result marks Germany’s first individual Olympic skiing medal in 12 years.

Aicher told German broadcaster ZDF that the course had been aggressive over every jump, and that she had initially not been able to work out how good her performance had been.

“It just felt absolutely wild. Every jump kind of tore me apart,” she said. “To be honest, I didn’t think it would work out after the run.”

After learning about the medal, Aicher at first expressed frustration at narrowly missing gold before realizing the scale of her achievement.

“Emma is already a true star on the Olympic stage,” said German Olympic Sports Confederation President Thomas Weikert.

Aicher has long been regarded as a leading future prospect in German alpine skiing.

She first emerged on the global stage five years ago at the World Championships in Cortina, contributing to a team bronze.

How bad was Vonn’s fall?

Vonn’s big dream of a second Olympic gold after 16 years ended after just 13 seconds. The 41-year-old, who had torn a left knee ligament nine days earlier, was thrown off at the first tricky bump, somersaulted, and lay screaming in the snow with her legs twisted.

Rescue services evacuated her by helicopter using a winch.

“My heart goes out to her, I hope it is not as bad as it looks,” US teammate Johnson said.

Aicher also expressed her concern. “I immediately looked away; I hope it’s nothing serious,” she said.

Backdrop of protest 

The games began with an opening ceremony at Milan’s San Siro stadium on Friday, when US Vice President JD Vance was booed by the crowd on Friday. 

On Saturday, Italian police fired tear gas and a water cannon at protesters who threw firecrackers and tried to access a highway near a games venue. The protests were against the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials at the games as part of the US security detail.

ICE has faced criticism for their treatment of immigrants in the US, as well as the killing of two US citizens by its agents on the streets of Minneapolis.

Edited by: Zac Crellin