Downhill: The Bill Johnson Story

Whatever happened to Bill Johnson? The man was like a comet, blazing onto the scene and quickly disappearing from sight. At the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, Bill grabbed center stage. It wasn't just his bold prediction of victory, but it was Bill's story, full of redemption -- a theme beloved by Americans. He was the classic "troubled youth" given a second chance on the ski hill. Busted for stealing cars when he was 17-years-old, Bill was given a choice of jail or accepting a scholarship to the Mission Ridge ski academy. Johnson manifested the lone wolf portrayed in Robert Redford's Downhill Racer, a film that both foreshadowed Bill's rise, and inspired the racer as well. "I've seen it many times," he told the Austrian press at Sarajevo two days before the downhill, "and that's exactly the way it'll happen now. You can start writing your story. This course was designed for me, and everyone else is here to fight for second place.