Federica Brignone wins giant slalom for second Olympic gold in stunning comeback – The Athletic
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Federica Brignone is all the way back.
The Italian Alpine skiing star, who returned to competition a month ago after a bad injury last April, won her second gold medal of these Olympics, taking the top spot in Sunday’s giant slalom at the famed Olympia delle Tofane slope in her home country.
Brignone finished the two runs in 2 minutes, 13.50 seconds to win by over six-tenths of a second. Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund shared silver, both finishing in 2:14.12. No bronze was awarded.
Brignone, 35, is the defending overall World Cup champion and won three medals across the 2018 and 2022 Olympics. In April, though, she suffered a fractured left leg and torn ACL during a race at the Italian championships, kicking off a long recovery process that had her participation in these Games in doubt.
“My mantra was ‘tomorrow is better for sure,’” Brignone said after of her recovery. “For five months, I didn’t even walk correctly.”
She returned to the World Cup circuit last month and only got two races in to prepare for the Olympics. It didn’t faze her. Brignone was 10th in the downhill last Sunday, then won the super-G on Thursday. Now, she has back-to-back Olympic golds.
Skiing 14th in the morning, Brignone was nearly immaculate from top to bottom, delivering a run of 1:03.23 in her trademark style, keeping her shoulders low and her hips down, staying fast and in control through every turn, twist and jump the hill threw at her.
She leaned over at the finish, then lifted her hand and pumped one fist in the most muted of celebrations, despite having grabbed a lead of more than three-quarters of a second.
Two more skiers further down in the start list would join her near the top, as both her compatriot Sofia Goggia and Germany’s Lena Duerr climbed to within less than a half-second, though they could not match their morning prowess in the afternoon and fell down the leaderboard.
Brignone skis during her first run in Sunday’s giant slalom. (Michael Kappeler / picture alliance via Getty Images)
In the afternoon, Brignone took her big morning lead into the starting hut and made sure not to give it up. Once more, the arms and shoulder shot forward, and her skis stayed on the snow, the noise rising up the mountain as she approached the finish. It exploded when she crossed the line.
She grabbed her helmet in disbelief. The two silver medalists rushed out to swarm her. Then they were bowing at her knees. And then they were whooping up a crowd that didn’t need much encouragement.
Italy’s Lara Della Mea was fourth, 0.67 behind Brignone. Austria’s Julia Scheib took fifth. American Mikaela Shiffrin saw her Olympic medal drought continue, finishing 11th.
“I wish I could explain how impressive that is,” Shiffrin said of Brignone. “The fact that she was able to get there just in time to be the super-G and GS gold medalist is just impressive and incredible.”
This was undoubtedly an Olympic giant slalom course worthy of the moment, contested on a breezy but otherwise near-perfect day for a race. Chilly, dry air, a bluebird sky, at least in the morning, hard fast snow, thanks to some intense work overnight and into the morning on the mountain after the skies dumped wet snow for much of Saturday afternoon.
The course followed a series of winds and bends down the famed Olympia delle Tofane slope. Midway through a steep sidehill, with a tough right turn at the bottom, racers had to fight to find the fastest line into a hard right turn as the mountain fell away in the other direction.
The camel rolls toward the bottom of the hill brought a couple of what racers call “blind gates” into play. That’s where they head off a jump going one way but have to pivot in the air or as soon as they hit the ground to avoid missing the next gates, which they can’t see before they take off.
The last jump into a blind turn was especially nasty. Paula Moltzan, another top American who finished 15th, was lucky to stay on her feet as the jump and ensuing landing sent her off balance and cost her a shot at the podium in the afternoon. Maryna Gasienica-Daniel of Poland flailed in mid-air, then somehow pulled off a landing on her right ski as her left leg sailed out to the side for another few seconds as she tried to regain her balance.
The afternoon run was turnier and slower, the best skiers needed about 70 seconds to get down compared with about 63 in the morning. But it still had its hairy moments that sent skis flying sideways when racers didn’t want them to.
And once more, this day belonged to Brignone. The triumph continued an altogether astonishing Olympics for the Italian veteran, whose career looked to be near over just a few months ago. As recently as November, she didn’t know whether she would ever get back on skis.
After the race, Brignone reflected on the journey just to get here. For months, that had been the goal — just make it to the Olympics. When she did, the pressure was off.
“If I was coming here to make gold medals, I would make no medals,” Brignone said.
