U.S. Ski Team News
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OLYMPIC CHAMPION JOHNSON INJURED IN RACE ACCIDENT

Olympic champion Bill Johnson was critically injured in an accident at
the
Chevy Truck U.S. Alpine Championships Thursday at The Big Mountain in
Montana. Johnson, the 1984 Olympic downhill champion, was undergoing
surgery at Kalispell Regional Medical Center Thursday afternoon.

Johnson, who has been in a season-long comeback bid, was navigating a
right turn through a section of course known as the Corkscrew, when he
lost control and impacted the snow hard before sliding through
protective fencing. He was treated at the scene for head trauma and
transported by Alert medical helicopter to Kalispell
Regional Medical Center, about 20 miles south.

The accident occured shortly before 10 a.m. MST. Johnson went into
surgery shortly after noon, and was still in surgery at 3:30 p.m. He is
under the care of neurosurgeon Dr. Rob Hollis.

Johnson won three World Cup downhills and the Olympic gold in 1984. He
continued racing until retiring after the 1989 season. He started his
racing comeback in November, and has been racing on the Nor Am circuit
in the United States and Canada for five months. He had skied the Big
Mountain course the previous two days in official training.

Thursday's accident came in a non-championship event. The first official
championship event is scheduled for Friday.

MEDIA NOTE: USSA will maintain a continually updated hotline on Bill
Johnson's condition. Simply call 435.649.6666 and select option 1 then
option 3. Media needing further information may leave a message for Tom
Kelly at 435.647.2010.