Italy’s Federica Brignone cemented her status as a national hero on Sunday, capturing her second gold medal of the Milano Cortina Games with a dominant victory in the women’s giant slalom. Brignone, 35, finished with a combined time of 2:13.50, outclassing the field by a staggering 0.62 seconds. The victory is particularly poignant given that Brignone was unable to walk for three months last year following a catastrophic leg injury.
The podium saw a rare tie for silver between Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund. Meanwhile, American star Mikaela Shiffrin finished in 11th place, missing the podium by 0.30 seconds. Despite the result, Shiffrin was full of praise for the winner, calling Brignone’s performance “the greatest show of GS skiing we’ve had in a really long time”. Shiffrin now turns her focus to her signature event, the slalom, scheduled for Wednesday, February 18.
