Women's Downhill Event at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games

Downhill is considered the premier discipline and is the longest and, after the Slalom, second-oldest alpine skiing competition. Due to the high speeds involved, Downhill is by far the most risky discipline.

Downhill emphasizes "the six components of technique, courage, speed, risk, physical condition, and judgement", according to the FIS International Ski Competition Rules.

Lindsey Vonn. Picture: HEAD SKI

The Women's Downhill event will be held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, on the mythical Olympia delle Tofane slope. The Olympia delle Tofane, known as the "Queen of Speed," is one of the most iconic slopes in the world for its technical complexity and the dramatic natural scenery of the Dolomites.

February 8, 11:30 Women's Downhill Cortina

Who to Watch?

Lindsey Vonn has finished on the podium in all five women’s Downhill events this winter season, including two wins in St. Moritz and Zauchensee. The last time Vonn achieved five consecutive podiums within a single discipline was in Downhill in the 2017-2018 winter season. The last woman before Vonn to make five consecutive Downhill podiums was Sophia Goggia in the 2022-2023 season.

She is competing in her fifth Winter Olympics at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games. She has won three Olympic medals, including a gold in Downhill at the 2010 Vancouver Games and a bronze at the 2018 PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games.

On January 30, 2026, Vonn suffered a complete ACL rupture and a deep bone bruise in her left knee during a World Cup crash in the Downhill in Crans-Montana. But the 41-year-old US skier surprised everyone with her announcement that she would attempt to start in the Downhill race in Cortina, despite suffering the injury just a week before the Opening Ceremony.

Sofia Goggia is a top medal hopeful for Italy, particularly in the Downhill event at the Olimpia delle Tofane course. She has won two Olympic medals, including a gold in Downhill at the 2018 PyeongChang 2018 Winter Games and a silver in Beijing 2022.

World Championship silver medalist Kira Weidle-Winkelmann is a German top medal contender in the women's Downhill event. She has finished second in two World Cup Downhills this season: Val d'Isere and Tarvisio. In the Italian ski resort, she claimed her eighth World Cup podium. She missed an Olympic bronze medal by just 0.14 seconds at the 2022 Beijing Games, finishing 4th.

Breezy Johnson won gold in the Downhill at the 2025 Saalbach Alpine Ski World Championships. She Finished 7th in the Downhill at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games.

The 30-year-old Italian skier Nicol Delago won the last Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill in Tarvisio before the Olympic Winter Games. Delago claimed her sixth podium in the World Cup, with five of those being in the Downhill event. The last time she finished on the podium was at the Downhill event of the Alpine Ski World Cup Finals in Saalbach on March 23, 2024.

Cornelia Huetter celebrated her first and only Alpine Ski World Cup victory of the season in the Downhill held in Val d'Isere. The 33-year-old Austrian skier is competing in her fourth Winter Olympics at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.

On December 13, 2025, in St. Moritz, Emma Aicher claimed her second Alpine Ski World Cup win in the Downhill. The 22-year-old German skier is competing in her second Winter Olympics at the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.

Olympic Downhill Champions

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 Laila Schou-Nilsen (Norway)

St. Moritz 1948 Heidi Schlunegger (Switzerland)

Oslo 1952 Trude Beiser-Jochum (Austria)

Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 Madeleine Berthod (Switzerland)

Squaw Valley 1960 Heidi Biebl (Germany)

Innsbruck 1964 Christl Haas (Austria)

Grenoble 1968 Olga Pall (Austria)

Sapporo 1972 Marie-Therese Nadig (Switzerland)

Innsbruck 1976 Rosi Mittermaier (Germany)

Lake Placid 1980 Annemarie Moser-Proell (Austria)

Sarajevo 1984 Michela Figini (Switzerland)

Calgary 1988 Marina Kiehl (Germany)

Albertville 1992 Kerrin Lee-Gartner (Canada)

Lillehammer 1994 Katja Seizinger (Germany)

Nagano 1998 Katja Seizinger (Germany)

Salt Lake 2002 Carole Montillet (France)

Torino 2006 Michaela Dorfmeister (Austria)

Vancouver 2010 Lindsey Vonn (USA)

Sochi 2014 Tina Maze (Slovenia) / Dominique Gisin (Switzerland

PyeongChang 2018 Sofia Goggia (Italy)

Beijing 2022 Corinne Suter (Switzerland)

Corinne Suter won gold in the Downhill, beating the top favorite and defending champion Sofia Goggia. Bronze went to Goggia's teammate Nadia Delago. Suter, who was the World Champion in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 2021, claimed her first Olympic medal.