Bristol, CT – American ski racer Bill Johnson’s stunning Olympic downhill gold in 1984 is iconic in ski racing, having left an indelible mark in the annals of U.S. Ski Team history. ESPN’s award-winning news magazine program E:60 will look inside his story of triumph and tragedy in an episode airing Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

Johnson was an American hero, a maverick who captured the attention of the country in one audacious moment of glory. At the 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, Johnson shocked everyone when, seemingly out of nowhere, he took gold in the men’s downhill, the first time the United States had won the event. Also that year, Johnson won three FIS World Cup downhills at a time when American men were not expected to achieve results.

But the glory did not last. The brash American talent insisted on living his life the way he skied – on the edge. Eventually, his performance declined and fame deserted him only to be replaced by personal tragedies. In the late ’90s, Johnson attempted a controversial comeback, seeking to make the 2002 Olympic Team, before suffering a life-changing head injury in a training crash.

Johnson spent over a decade in his futile effort to get back to the top. E:60’s Jeremy Schaap recounts the up and down life of this Olympic hero.

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