Mikaela Shiffrin's long absence this season has been marked by planned returns that didn't materialize since she badly injured her stomach in Killington last fall.
Just in time for the Alpine World Championship in Saalbach, she announced that no team combination was current.
The focus was instead set on giant slalom and slalom.
But a palpable worry - she herself mentioned post-traumatic stress - about how her body would handle the dangers and challenges of giant slalom made her reconsider.
"A wonderful day"
No giant slalom, but slalom in the team combination - a decision she didn't need to regret.
Johnson, her friend since young years, won the downhill gold on Saturday. Now she skied down to the fourth best time. Then it was enough for Shiffrin to clock the third fastest time in slalom a few hours later to celebrate properly.
A wonderful day for me, but also nerve-wracking for me up there since Breezy did her job, says Shiffrin.
The gold was her eighth in World Championship contexts. In total, she has 15 medals in 18 starts. An astonishing record, but then she is also the queen of alpine skiing.
With that said, she came to Saalbach with uncertainty about what she could achieve after the long injury break. As late as the end of January, she made her comeback in the World Cup in Courchevel.
"Very cool"
It's very cool to compete with her. She has been at the top for a decade or more. It was nervous for her and even more so for me, says Breezy Johnson.
If anyone had said that we would win a championship medal together, neither of us would have believed it, she continues.
The Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami and Wendy Holdener took silver, while the Austrians Stephanie Venier and Katharina Truppe secured the bronze.
On Wednesday, the men's team combination will be decided. For Sweden, Felix Monsén will ski downhill, Kristoffer Jakobsen, slalom.
Henrik Skiöld/TT
Facts: Remaining competitions in the Alpine World Championship
TT
Wednesday: Team combination, men
Swedes: Felix Monsén, downhill, Kristoffer Jakobsen, slalom.
Thursday: Giant slalom, women
Swedes: Sara Hector, Estelle Alphand, Lisa Nyberg, Hanna Aronsson Elfman
Friday: Giant slalom, men
Swedes: William Hansson, Fabian Ax Swartz
Saturday: Slalom, women
Swedes: Anna Swenn Larsson, Sara Hector, Cornelia Öhlund, Hanna Aronsson Elfman
Sunday: Slalom, men
Swedes: Kristoffer Jakobsen, Fabian Ax Swartz, Gustav Wissting, William Hansson.
