February 15th, 2026 - Brignone Beats the Odds and Shiffrin to Claim Another Gold

Italy’s impressive run as the host nation continued on Sunday, with its athletes once again rising to the moment. Competing on home snow, the Italian team has consistently delivered performances at or above expectations, keeping the country near the top of the medal standings. The momentum carried into the women’s giant slalom, where another gold medal added to the celebration.

Federica Brignone, the 35-year-old Italian veteran, captured gold in the giant slalom just days after earning her first Olympic title in the Super G. It marked a remarkable stretch for Brignone, who is enjoying the finest Olympic performances of her long career. Meanwhile, American star Mikaela Shiffrin, a two-time Olympic champion, finished 11th.

Brignone, easily recognizable by the tiger design on her helmet, set the fastest time in the opening run. Six competitors remained within striking distance, meaning the second run would be decisive. Rather than needing another blistering performance, she only needed a controlled, steady descent, and she delivered exactly that.

Her combined time of 2:13.50 was 0.62 seconds ahead of her closest challengers, securing the gold medal. Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise Stjernesund shared the silver medal after finishing with identical times.

Chosen as one of Italy’s four flag-bearers for the opening ceremony, an honor often reserved for athletes nearing retirement, Brignone instead appears to be peaking. With her Super G victory, she became the oldest Olympic Alpine skiing gold medalist in history. Just three days later, she broke her own record again.

For Shiffrin, the Games have been more challenging. After winning Olympic gold in slalom in 2014 and giant slalom in 2018, she did not finish her signature events in 2022 and has yet to find the podium in Milan. She placed fourth in the team combined earlier in the Games. Her strongest discipline, the slalom, remains ahead and offers one more opportunity to turn things around.

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster) - Vertiginous (adj, ver-TIJ-uh-nus) - Vertiginous is a formal adjective used to describe something that causes or is likely to cause a feeling of dizziness especially because of great height.

Example: As a window washer for some of the city’s tallest skyscrapers, Victor had to quickly master working at vertiginous heights.

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