Paris (AFP) - US skier Breezy Johnson announced her withdrawal from the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday after a recent knee injury dashed her dream of gold at the 2022 Games.

“This sport is brutal,” Johnson, 28, posted on Instagram.

She recalled the sound of “a massive crack in my knee” in the crash in training for a World Cup downhill in Italy last week.

“It was a large part of cartilage that is partially dislodged,” added the skier placed third in the World Cup downhill standings.

She said all she wanted after her Olympic appetite was wetted at Pyeongchang 2018 was “to come back stronger, faster, to win a gold medal”.

Whilst the Games in China starting on February 4 are out of the question she has reset her sights now on the 2026 Olympics.

They are to be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the slope where her 2022 hopes came crashing down.

“I have a lot of other goals in ski racing. Goals that I can work on for the next four years.

“Before I return, hopefully to the hill that stole this Olympic dream from me, for another shot at that gold medal. #2026 baby”.