Venier clinched the win with a time of 1 minute 33.06 seconds, finishing 0.39 seconds ahead of Switzerland's Lara Gut-Behrami. Canadian Valerie Grenier rounded off the podium, trailing by 0.71 seconds.
Shiffrin's crash occurred when she lost her balance off a jump, just before a challenging turn on the Olympia delle Tofane course. She slid into the side netting and remained prone until the medical team arrived. Eventually, she managed to get to her feet, although she couldn't put weight on her left leg and had to be assisted off the piste with her poles.
The race was halted for over 20 minutes while Shiffrin was airlifted for evacuation. The US team confirmed that she was being evaluated for a left leg injury and that the initial analysis indicated her anterior and posterior cruciate knee ligaments appeared intact.
Shiffrin took to social media to express her gratitude for the support she has received. She has primarily focused on slalom and giant slalom events this season, competing in only her second downhill race. In a prior post, she had mentioned the challenges of returning to downhill skiing.
With 95 victories to her name, Shiffrin is one of the most successful skiers in history. She has already clinched seven World Cup events this season, including a downhill race in St. Moritz in December.
Unfortunately, injuries have plagued the skiing community this season. Shiffrin's boyfriend, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, suffered a season-ending crash earlier this month. Additionally, Austrian skier Marco Schwarz, French skier Alexis Pinturault, and Shiffrin's Slovakian rival Petra Vlhova have all faced season-ending injuries.
Shiffrin maintains a lead of 340 points over Gut-Behrami in the women's overall standings. Despite the setbacks, the racing in Cortina will continue with a second downhill race scheduled for Saturday, followed by a super-G on Sunday.
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