(Photo credit: Michael Madrid-Imagn Images)

Breezy Johnson won the biggest race of her career on Saturday, claiming gold in the women's downhill at the Alpine Ski World Championships in Saalbach, Austria.

It was the first world medal for Johnson, who has seven World Cup podium finishes without a victory.

Johnson, 29, was the first of 33 skiers to attack the course and completed in 1:41.29. She watched and waited as her time stood.

Mirjam Puchner of Austria took second, 0.15 seconds behind Johnson. Czech Ester Ledecka finished 0.21 back, good enough for the bronze medal.

Another American, Lauren Macuga, who won bronze in the super-G event at the worlds on Thursday, finished fifth.

Lindsey Vonn, who has come out of retirement at age 40 and is in the early stages of her comeback, was 15th.

'It has not sunk in yet,' said Johnson, from Jackson Hole, Wyo. 'I've just been trying to ski my best all weekend. I really tried to throw down today.'

Macuga and Vonn also were delighted by the results.

'I put forward my best skiing, and I couldn't be more excited,' said Macuga, 22, from Park City, Utah. 'It's so cool to see our team thriving like this. We've been building it up and now we get to represent such a strong team.'

Johnson is the fourth American woman to win downhill gold and the first since Vonn in 2009.

'For me it was important to be at the start and be clear minded and be able to execute under pressure. It is good preparation for next year for the Olympics,' Vonn said. 'I'm so happy for Breezy and also Lauren in the super-G. ... Our team is really, really strong so it's going to be a fun season to prepare for with all these girls that are so fast.'

--Field Level Media