Desi's Story
Fast Facts
Sport: Bobsleigh
Events: 2-woman bobsleigh
Olympic History: Milano Cortina 2026
Year Born: 2001
About Desi
Desi Johnson made her Olympic debut at Milano Cortina alongside Sarah Blizzard in the two-woman bobsleigh.
Sitting 22nd after the first run, and with the emotion of their Olympic debut settled, the pair applied their learnings in the second heat to produce an even stronger run.
Going into the provisional lead, Sarah and Desi watched on from the leader’s box as back-to-back crews failed to surpass them, eventually finishing the second run in 19th place.
They finished their third run in 21st position, narrowly missing the top-20 cut off by just 0.02 seconds, meaning they missed a chance at a fourth and final run.
"It's just so close - you've just got to put everything out there and that's what we did. We can call ourselves Olympians now and we go home happy... I'm just so proud of us."
Desi is part of Australia’s next wave of bobsleigh talent, bringing elite sprint power to one of winter sport’s most explosive start disciplines. After building a strong base in athletics, competing in the 100 metres and heptathlon, Desi transitioned to bobsleigh in 2023, joining the Australian team as a brakewoman.
The move made immediate sense. In bobsleigh, the first seconds of the run are defined by acceleration and teamwork, with the brakewoman delivering repeated high-force pushes before loading into the sled. Johnson’s speed and strength quickly translated, and she began racing internationally alongside pilot Sarah Blizzard, focusing on building consistency across the long European season.
Desi’s outstanding progression was underlined on the international development circuit in 2025, when she attended the first International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation Summer Training Camp in Prague. The camp culminated in a push championship event, and Desi topped the women’s field.
On the ice, her early championship experience came at the 2024 International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation World Championships in Winterberg, Germany, where she and Sarah finished 21st in the 2-woman competition in their first World Championship race together.
The 2025–26 season then became a key phase of Olympic qualification and international learning, with Desi and Sarah stepping into World Cup racing and gaining valuable starts on tracks expected to shape the sport for years to come.
Desi made her World Cup debut with Sarah in Cortina d’Ampezzo on 23 November 2025, finishing 23rd in the 2-woman event, an important milestone, not only because it marked her first World Cup start, but because it came on the Olympic track where the Games’ sliding events will be held.
Momentum continued into the new year. At the Winterberg World Cup on 5 January 2026, Sarah and Desi delivered their best World Cup result to date, placing 17th in the 2-woman race, a personal best that reflected improved execution across both heats. The pair concluded the pre-Olympic World Cup season with 20th at St. Moritz and another best placing when 15th at Altenberg.
Away from competition, Desi has also become known for sharing training, fitness and nutrition content with a large online audience, helping to shine a light on the work required behind the scenes.
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