By WILL GRAVES
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Downhill champion Breezy Johnson didn’t add to her Olympic medal haul during the women’s super-G on Thursday.
The American star left Tofane with something precious anyway: an engagement ring.
Johnson’s longtime boyfriend, Connor Watkins, proposed to her near the finish line while surrounded by members of the U.S. Ski Team.
Reciting lyrics from the Taylor Swift song “The Alchemy,” Watkins slipped a ring of blue and white sapphires set in white gold on the ring finger of Johnson’s left hand. She tearfully accepted, then turned the ring toward the sea of cameras to celebrate a dream that turned into reality.
“It felt fitting to combine two of my loves,” Johnson said. “It’s a special place at the Olympics. I feel like there’s a lot of mystique around it.”
She then added with a laugh, “Also you get free photography.”
The two met on a dating app a few years ago, with Watkins totally unaware that Johnson happened to be one of the best skiers on the planet. It wasn’t until Watkins asked about 10 minutes into their first date (a brunch) that Johnson fessed up.
“I was a little taken aback,” said Watkins who works in construction back in the U.S. “I had very little knowledge of ski racing and everything else, and over the last couple of years I’ve grown to really love it.”
The joyful proposal came about an hour after Johnson’s bid to reach the podium in the super-G ended with a crash high in the course when her right pole clipped a gate and sent her tumbling into the catch fence. Johnson pulled herself to her feet and was unharmed.
Down in the finish area with the ring in his pocket, Watkins briefly wondered if he might need switch to Plan B just in case the moment wasn’t right.
Turns out, having Watkins there was exactly what Johnson needed.
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United States’ Breezy Johnson looks at the engagement ring she was given by Connor Watkins, at the finish area of an alpine ski, women’s super-G race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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United States’ Breezy Johnson looks at the engagement ring she was given by Connor Watkins, at the finish area of an alpine ski, women’s super-G race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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“I was feeling kind of stupid, which I think is kind of the moment you want the people you love around you, like when you’re just feeling dumb and childish,” Johnson said. “You’re like, ‘Tell me that I’m OK.’ Just seeing him, ‘It’s nice to see you,’ and let’s go commiserate together. And then, obviously, everything else happened.”
Something that took an already surreal stay in Cortina to another level entirely.
“I think most people want to peak at the Olympics,” Johnson said. “I just extra peaked.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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