GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — In a thrilling women’s World Cup downhill race on Saturday, Federica Brignone narrowly secured victory over her Italian teammate Sofia Goggia by only 0.01 seconds, achieving a remarkable 1-2 finish for Italy. The race unfolded on the challenging Kandahar course, where Lindsey Vonn encountered difficulties, missing a gate towards the end and ultimately failing to finish.
Brignone’s performance showcased her refined technical skills as she mastered the course, edging out Goggia, who struggled initially but fiercely pushed through the latter half of her run. “What a tight race. I was not expecting to see ‘1’ on the scoreboard. I had to look twice, like, ‘What?!’” exclaimed Brignone, who celebrated joyously upon crossing the finish line. “It was just amazing. I put all the pieces together today,” she added.
This race served as the last downhill event before the world championships scheduled for February 4-16 in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria. Brignone’s victory marked her 32nd career win and her second in downhill, following her first triumph in this high-speed discipline just two weeks ago in St. Anton, Austria. At 34 years and six months old, Brignone set a new record as the oldest winner in women’s World Cup history.
Reflecting on her journey to this win, Brignone shared her recent challenges. After leading the first run of a giant slalom in Kronplatz, Italy, only to ski out in the second, she was determined to improve. She described her training leading up to Saturday’s race as “not amazing,” emphasizing her commitment to analyzing video footage to identify areas for improvement. “I want to give my best and be the best version of myself. That’s what I aimed for today, and it makes me so proud,” she said.
With this victory, Brignone extended her lead in the overall World Cup rankings, now sitting 110 points ahead of the defending champion, Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland, who placed fifth in the race. American skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who has faced setbacks this season due to an abdominal injury requiring surgery, is preparing to make her comeback at a night slalom in France later this week, trailing Brignone by nearly 500 points.
Finishing third was Swiss skier Corinne Suter, who was 0.19 seconds behind, while American Breezy Johnson placed fourth, completing a strong performance by the U.S. team after her absence last season due to anti-doping violations. Other notable placements included Lauren Macuga in sixth and Jacqueline Wiles in 11th.
In contrast, Lindsey Vonn faced her second consecutive DNF (Did Not Finish) after a challenging run that saw her struggle to maintain pace. Starting with bib number 28, she fell behind at the final split time and encountered a bump that hindered her ability to navigate the next gate. “It was OK,” Vonn commented, noting that she aimed to take fewer risks due to flat light conditions and soft snow. “I always want to go full speed, but maybe I still need a bit more time,” she admitted.
This was Vonn’s sixth race back since her return to skiing at age 40, following a knee operation. Last week, she mentioned her intention to retire after competing in one last Olympics in 2026. The event also witnessed a significant interruption when Nina Ortlieb suffered an injury after crashing into safety nets, resulting in a helicopter evacuation for her broken leg. Ortlieb had only recently returned to the competition after a year off due to a previous leg injury.
Isabella Wright also collided with the nets but managed to recover and continue after receiving medical attention. Looking ahead, a super-G event on the same course is set to take place on Sunday.
