Italian ski racer Federica Brignone on Tuesday wrapped up the season-long giant slalom title at the FIS Ski World Cup Finals in a race won by Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland.
Brignone needed to finish just 13th or better in the final run to clinch the discipline crown and wound up second. She finished 0.14 seconds behind Gut-Behrami’s winning combined time of 2 minutes, 10.01 seconds on a warm day at Sun Valley. Sara Hector of Sweden was third.
The 34-year-old Brignone entered the day 20 points behind Alice Robinson of New Zealand in the last World Cup giant slalom race of the season. Robinson struggled with a gate in her first run, veered off course and did not finish, paving the way for Brignone.
Photo: AFP
“This is why I like the sport so much, to be here and still playing the game at the end,” Brignone said. “It’s the thing that makes me feel more alive. It’s stressful on one hand, but at the end it’s so nice.”
Brignone won the Giant Slalom Crystal Globe with 580 points, while Robinson had 520 and Hector 447. It was only the second time in Robinson’s nine World Cup giant slalom races this season that she was not on the podium.
“I was pretty upset for all of this morning, but now more relaxed — just really proud of the season,” the 23-year-old Robinson said. “Just a bit disappointed I didn’t get to fight for the globe. I was really looking forward to that second-run showdown.”
Photo: AFP
It has been a stellar season for Brignone, who already wrapped up the overall title, along with the downhill crown. She also captured a gold medal in the giant slalom at the world championships last month, along with a silver at worlds in the super-G. She is expected to be a strong force heading into the 2026 Winter Olympics in her home country.
“It’s been a crazy and amazing season for me,” Brignone said. “It’s just incredible. I never thought I was able to ski like that, like this year — to stay focused and to really be on my skis and ski like that. It’s something magical.”
Gut-Behrami, the super-G winner on Sunday, continued to shine on the Sun Valley course. Even more, she found joy in her ski racing that had been absent.
“I was always looking for what I was missing and struggling a lot,” said Gut-Behrami, who earned the 100th World Cup podium of her career. “Right now, I’m happy again to ski. This is what I was missing the most. I love what I’m doing.”
Mikaela Shiffrin, a 22-time giant slalom World Cup winner, did not qualify for the giant slalom finals this season, but was today to race in the slalom.
She has been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from her crash in November last year in Killington, Vermont, where she sustained a deep puncture wound on the right side of her abdomen.
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
BRING THE NOISE: Brazil’s Fonseca attracted a boisterous crowd that brought such dominant soccer-style energy the referee switched to Portuguese to ask for quiet Australia’s Alex de Minaur on Monday put an end to Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca’s challenge at the Miami Open, outlasting the 18-year-old 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 in an enthralling contest. Attendance on stadium court had been sparse throughout the day, but the Hard Rock Stadium turned into a mini-Maracana Stadium for Fonseca’s match, complete with Brazilian flags and soccer-style chanting. Fonseca brought his energetic brand of ultra-attacking tennis, but De Minaur was up to the challenge, coping with blistering forehands and a partisan crowd. Such was the dominance of Fonseca’s raucous support that the referee switched to Portuguese for his appeals for quiet. However, De