Austrian skier Scheib wins giant slalom as Brignone returns and Shiffrin shows positive signs

By Canadian Press on January 20, 2026.

SAN VIGILIO DI MAREBBE, Italy (AP) — Austrian skier Julia Scheib is heading into the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as the racer to beat in giant slalom.

Defending overall World Cup champion Federica Brignone is back, though, after a long injury layoff. And Mikaela Shiffrin is making ground in the discipline, too.

Scheib claimed her fourth giant slalom victory of the season Tuesday, moving up from third after the opening run to finish 0.37 seconds ahead of Camille Rast and 0.46 ahead of defending Olympic champion Sara Hector, who led after the first run at the Kronplatz resort.

Shiffrin placed fourth, 0.86 behind, and Brignone was sixth, 1.23 back.

Valerie Grenier of St-Isidore, Ont., was the top Canadian in ninth place, 2.24 behind Scheib, while Britt Richardson of Canmore, Alta., finished 11th.

The 27-year-old Scheib had never won a World Cup race before this season but now she leads the discipline standings with a comfortable margin of 139 points ahead of Rast.

Shiffrin, the American winner of a record 107 World Cup races, has not finished on the podium in giant slalom in exactly two years — since before her crash in Killington, Vermont, in Nov. 2024.

Shiffrin won the Kronplatz race three times, including in 2023 when with victory No. 83 she broke the all-time women’s wins record previously held by Lindsey Vonn.

It was Brignone’s first race since breaking multiple bones in her left leg in April — which resulted in two surgeries and months of rehab.

“When I stuck my poles out, I said to myself, ‘I’m not sure if I’m ready.’ My hand was shaking,” Brignone said after the opening run. “I started off quite rigid, which makes it tough in these conditions. But then I remembered to breathe after the first checkpoint, and then it went a bit better.”

Brignone is hoping to compete for host Italy at the Olympics, which open Feb. 6 with the women skiing in nearby Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Sofia Goggia, another Italian, lost control midway down and didn’t finish her first run.

Nina O’Brien had fast splits in her second run before losing control on the steep slope midway down. The American was spun around and slid down before coming to a stop near the safety netting. She got right back up and appeared to avoid serious injury.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

The Associated Press

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