American skier Breezy Johnson broke out onto the world stage at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
Johnson won gold in the women’s downhill for the U.S., a feat only Lindsey Vonn had accomplished. It was also Team USA’s first gold of the 2026 Winter Games.
Johnson led the field in the downhill portion of the women’s combined but ultimately placed fourth in the event, narrowly missing out on another medal. Then, her engagement following the Super-G captured the internet’s — and Taylor Swift’s — attention.
But before any of that happened, Johnson moved from her home in Victor, Idaho, to enroll at Rowland Hall’s Rowmark Ski Academy in Salt Lake City.
Johnson spent her high school years at the academy before graduating in 2013 and joining the national team in 2014.
Her recent success at the Olympics has created a buzz at the school, Rowmark director Per Lundstam told the Deseret News.
“Seeing the successful Olympics she just had was just phenomenal, and I think all of the community in Salt Lake and here at the school, really, really were inspired by it,” Lundstam said. “The excitement here at school was phenomenal to see, and obviously, everybody feeling some sort of belonging to her journey and feeling a part of her great success just makes it an amazing day, an amazing week for us here at school.”
What makes Breezy Johnson special
Johnson, a member of Rowmark’s 2013 class, had long since graduated from Rowmark when Lundstam was named director last year. But the two crossed paths at U.S. Ski and Snowboard, where Lundstam worked for over two decades.
“I think what really is fascinating with Breezy is the determination and how she’s able to really, really utilize the work ethic and work capacity to basically improve more in her competition. So she almost outworks all her competition, and she does it day in and day out,” Lundstam said.
The Rowmark director also praised Johnson’s skiing IQ.
“She has a good understanding of training methodologies, training mechanisms, and what happened from the physiological standpoint when she does the different training methods,” he said.
Johnson previously competed for the U.S. at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. She made the 2022 Olympics team as well but had to withdraw following a knee injury the month before the Winter Games.
Watching Johnson’s success can be inspiring for current Rowmark students aiming for a similar career, says Lundstam.
“It really gives a sense of direction. It really gives a sense of a trajectory of trying to get to the same place,” he said. “... So seeing Breezy being at the top of the world, that was just phenomenal, I think, for everybody, and it really gives a sense of direction and trajectory for a lot of student-athletes that are involved in our program.”
The Rowmark Olympics legacy
Johnson isn’t the lone Rowmark alum competing at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. She’s joined by Katie Hensien and Mary Bocock on the U.S. team and Madison Hoffman, who’s representing Australia.
They’re part of a long line of Olympians to come out of Rowmark. Since 1988, a Rowmark alum has competed at every Olympics.
This month, Johnson joined Picabo Street as the only former Rowmark students to win Olympic gold, according to the school.
“We are a fairly small school compared to our competitors, but we have always really, really been able to create better performances, high performances, than most of the schools,” he said.
Lundstam thinks the academy’s athlete-focused culture plays a large role in the success of its alums.
Rowmark is a year-round ski program. In the summer, the school chases the snow, spending two to three weeks in Chile skiing. Then during the school year, students split their time 50-50 in the classroom and on the slopes.
“We have a very focused approach to training our athletes. It’s very focused on the athletes. Our coaches to athlete ratio is very high,” Lundstam explained. “So, we have only five to six athletes per coach, and that makes for a lot of focus on athletes, and really understanding each human behind the athlete.”
Lundstam also credited the academy’s location and its access to world-class resorts and skiing facilities, which Lundstam described as a “massive advantage” over other schools.
“The close proximity to all these amazing training facilities is just unheard of,” he said. “... So that gives us an amazing opportunity to improve our student-athletes.”
What the 2034 Olympics means for current Rowmark students
Eight years from now, the Winter Olympics will return to Utah, and current Rowmark students are aware of the possibility of competing in a home Olympics and becoming the next Johnson.
“The excitement around the 2034 Olympics is massive in the school, and the student-athletes that are starting with our program right now, they are going to be in the prime age, and then many of them are going to be exactly in that sweet spot for trying to make that Olympics,” Lundstam said.
“So for sure that is a massive driver for us. It’s a very strong target, and it gives us a very strong pathway to kind of work towards. And (to) be a part of that Olympics is a pretty fascinating opportunity we have.”
Lundstam hopes that Rowmark will have alumni in Olympic contention in 2034.
While it may sound like a lot of pressure to already be discussing becoming a 2034 Olympian, Lundstam said it’s part of the process.
“How we balance the long-term goals with the present is that the long-term goal and that dream, the future vision, really creates the building stones, and it needs to be a very long plan to be successful at the Olympics,” he said.
Eight years may sound like a long ways away, but that’s not the case for the student-athletes.
“It’s only eight years away right now, so a lot of the activations, activities, building blocks we create now will have an effect in eight years,” Lundstam said. “So, it’s very important to have that goal in mind in everything we do, and it really comes around very fast.”