Breezy Johnson and Ilia Malinin star for US at Milan Cortina Olympics as Lindsey Vonn crashes

MILAN (AP) — The crash. The gasps. The helicopter.

Lindsey Vonn's frightening fall in the women's downhill at the Milan Cortina Olympics couldn't help but overshadow U.S. teammate Breezy Johnson’s feat — winning her country's first gold medal at these Games.

Johnson’s victory Sunday in Cortina wasn't the Olympic comeback story everyone expected, as the focus was on Vonn going for gold despite a torn ACL. Even as Johnson sat in the leader’s box on the verge of securing her first Olympic gold medal, her emotions swung from anticipation to anguish when Vonn went down.

“It was one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life,” Johnson said.

Still, the 30-year-old Johnson became only the second American woman to win the Olympic downhill — Vonn won it in 2010 — and it came after her own injury concerns as well as a 14-month ban for violating “whereabouts” rules when it comes to testing for doping.

Sometimes, she said, “you just have to keep going because that’s the only option.”

No delays this time.

The U.S. defended its team figure skating gold medal by edging Japan on Sunday.

Ilia Malinin beat rival Shun Sato in a head-to-head showdown to break a deadlock in the final session of the competition. The U.S. ended up with 69 points while Japan finished with 68.

Malinin, nicknamed the “Quad God,” landed five quadruple jumps and scored 200.03 points for his free skate. Sato followed him with three quads in his program, but he could only manage 194.86 points, leaving the Japanese with a second straight silver medal in the team event.

Four years ago, the Americans — and Japanese — were denied a medal ceremony in Beijing because of a lengthy investigation into Russian doping, which kept them from receiving their medals until the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

Must be the home cooking.

Host nation Italy won six medals Sunday — five bronze and one silver — the most Italy has ever won in a single day at the Winter Olympics.

The Italy team delivered the silver medal in the mixed relay biathlon race.

Downhill skier Sofia Goggia won Italy's first bronze medal of the day, followed by Lucia Dalmasso's third place in snowboarding’s parallel giant slalom. Riccardo Lorello claimed bronze in the men’s speedskating 5,000 meters.

Dominik Fischnaller took bronze in men’s singles luge before Italy rallied for third place in the figure skating team event.

That followed Italy's Day 1 total of three medals, led by speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida's gold in the 3,000 meters.

Five charter planes carrying NHL players — including Canada’s Sidney Crosby — arrived in Milan on Sunday morning from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. This is the first Olympics with NHL players since the Sochi Games in 2014.

Sweden was the first of the teams comprised of almost exclusively NHL players to take the ice for practice at Milano Santagiulia Arena, followed by the U.S., Czechia, Canada and Finland.

The 12-team men's tournament starts Wednesday. The U.S. and Canada are the heavy favorites, and both teams begin their campaigns Thursday. The Americans face Latvia. Canada plays Czechia.

Finland is the defending champion, but Canada has won each of the past two Olympics with NHL players.

No surprise that a Czech racer won snowboarding's parallel giant slalom Sunday in Livigno. The shocker was that it wasn't Ester Ledecka.

Ledecka, who was trying to become the first snowboarder to win gold medals at three straight Olympics, lost her quarterfinal race by 0.06 seconds to Austria’s Sabine Payer.

The gold medal went to Ledecka's teammate, 22-year-old Zuzana Maderova. It was her first victory in a major event. Payer took the silver medal. Italy's Lucia Dalmasso won bronze.

Ledecka hadn’t lost a PGS World Cup race in almost two years.

There's plenty of interest here in the Super Bowl, even if the game kicks off Monday at 12:30 a.m. in Italy. A couple of sports pubs in Milan said on Sunday that they're fully booked and will turn away walk-ups. The New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, California.

A few days before competing in Sunday's women's downhill, American skier Jacqueline Wiles noted that she's a “big, big fan” of the Seahawks. A native of Portland, Oregon, Wiles finished tied for fourth on Sunday, just missing out on a bronze medal.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Czechia's Ester Ledecka warms up during the women's snowboarding parallel giant slalom finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Riccardo Lorello of Italy reacts after winning the bronze medal on the men's 5,000 meters speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

A rescue helicopter arrives after United States' Lindsey Vonn crashed during an alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the figure skating men's team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Breezy Johnson of the United States reacts in the finish area of the alpine ski women's downhill race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott, Keystone via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Hughes held the ball in his hands, occasionally tossing his latest souvenir in the air.

Hughes had done “Saturday Night Live” and cherished the chance to chat with Lorne Michaels, then appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” as part of the victory lap for the U.S. Olympic gold medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams. It only got better Friday when Hughes and women's goaltender Aerin Frankel threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium before the New York Yankees' home opener against the Miami Marlins.

“I knew a lot of things were coming, but this was the one thing I was always like wishing-slash-hoping for,” Hughes said. "Just so much fun. For both of us, it’s unreal."

Hughes scored in overtime in the men's final at the Milan Cortina Games, a few days after Frankel backstopped the women's team to also beating Canada for gold. It's the first time the U.S. has won double gold in the sport at the Olympics, and the sled hockey team made it a clean sweep at the Paralympics.

Frankel said her life hasn't changed much since other than seeing the impact the physical gold medal has on people who had never seen one.

“It’s cool to see how special that is for them,” said Frankel, who plays for the PHWL's Boston Fleet. “We’ve been super busy jumping back into pro seasons and stuff and making time for really cool opportunities like this.”

Frankel is from Westchester County and grew up in a family of Yankees fans. Hughes has become one over the seven years he has been in the area as the face of the franchise for the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.

Hughes played some baseball growing up, but needed to get his right throwing arm warmed up.

“We played in Dallas last week and my trainer ‘Frosty’ (Chris Scoppetto) brought gloves and I threw like 50 pitches right before morning skate,” Hughes said. “My shoulder was so sore, so I was like, ‘We’ve got to cool it.'”

Hughes' shoulder was fine. He scored twice that night against the Stars and had a five-point game Thursday night on the eve of his big baseball day.

Less than 24 hours after making 22 saves in a 3-0 shutout win over Winnipeg and U.S. Olympic starter Connor Hellebuyck, Oettinger threw a strike on his pitch from the top of the mound before the Texas Rangers' home opener. He got a loud ovation, with chants of “U-S-A!” when he was introduced.

That came after the national anthem, during which Rangers fans, like those at Stars games, yelled “Stars!” at both times that phrase came up in the song.

Oettinger wore his U.S. jersey and gold medal that everybody wants to see. Like Frankel, he said the coolest part to him is letting “other people wear it or take pictures with it and how excited they get. ... It just shows you how big the Olympics are. I think when you’re over there playing in it, you don’t really realize the magnitude, and then you get back and see how much it means to everyone is the best part.”

Oettinger, who played baseball until he was about 12, said he threw some Thursday with his younger brother, Thomas, who soon will turn 12. His brother was with him on the field and when they met former president George W. Bush, the former Rangers owner who was also at the game

“Brought my little brother and I got to take him through the clubhouse, and just a first-class organization,” Oettinger said. “Got to meet President Bush, so it has been a great day.”

A little over six weeks since scoring the tying goal late in the gold-medal game on a deflection of captain Hilary Knight's shot, Cleveland Heights' Laila Edwards got a rousing ovation for her first pitch from the mound over the plate before the Guardians' home opener.

“It’s so exciting, especially growing up and being a fan of Cleveland baseball,” Edwards said. “I played baseball in the backyard with my brother. He’s jealous, but I have to make him proud.”

Edwards, who's 22 and considered Knight's successor as the face of women's hockey in the U.S., has done a lot of winning so far this year. She helped Wisconsin to the second of back-to-back national titles, an experience she called surreal.

“I’m having so much fun and being grateful,” Edwards said. “We got back from the Olympics and three days later we were starting NCAA playoffs, so there was no rest there. That’s what we signed up for. And then to be able to win and meant everything."

AP Baseball Writer Stephen Hawkins in Arlington, Texas, and AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy in Cleveland contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Olympic gold medal hockey player Laila Edwards throws out a ceremonial first pitch before an opening day baseball game between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger throws a ceremonial first pitch prior to the Texas Rangers' home-opener baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes looks on during batting practice before his ceremonial first pitch for the home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New Jersey Devils' Jack Hughes practices ahead of his first pitch before a home-opener baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Miami Marlins, Friday, April 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)