SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — Federica Brignone showcased an impressive performance during the initial run of the women’s giant slalom at the Alpine skiing world championships, held on Thursday, while reigning champion Mikaela Shiffrin did not participate.
Brignone is targeting the chance to become the first Italian to win this event in nearly three decades. She built a significant lead of 0.67 seconds ahead of New Zealand’s Alice Robinson.
Paula Moltzan from the United States sits in third place, needing to make up 1.24 seconds in the subsequent run. “It’s good for me. In the second run, the course will not be perfect, but I have a lot of time advantage,” Brignone stated. She recently secured a silver medal in the super-G and leads the overall World Cup standings, marking what could be the peak season of her career.
Shiffrin opted to sit out this event, explaining that she does not feel ready to tackle the giant slalom following a fall in November. The American skier participated in the team combined event alongside Breezy Johnson, successfully skiing the slalom portion, and has intentions to compete in Saturday’s slalom.
Shiffrin, who claimed the giant slalom world title in 2023 and has consistently reached the podium in this discipline at every championship since 2017, shared her challenges: “What I’ve been struggling with this past couple of weeks with GS is that when we bring in normal or real conditions, a little bit harder snow, I don’t even know that I’m scared. I just can’t execute the movements necessary for a fast giant slalom turn.”
The American skier, who holds a record 99 World Cup titles, suffered a serious injury when she fell during a giant slalom race on November 30 in Killington, Vermont, resulting in substantial damage to her oblique muscles and necessitating surgery in December.
During her run, Brignone gained the most time with a stellar performance on the bottom section of the Schneekristall course, where organizers treated the surface with salt to improve the snow conditions. “It’s really challenging underfoot because when the salt kicks in, it provides grip, yet it can also feel a bit slippery,” Brignone remarked, stating this was “my favorite snow, for sure.”
The skier has previously secured giant slalom silver at the championships in both 2011 and 2023, and she aims to become the first Italian female winner since Deborah Compagnoni secured back-to-back titles in 1996-97.
“I aimed to be very proactive and always stay on the edge to avoid sliding, especially in the middle section where speed was not abundant,” Brignone explained. Unfortunately, her fellow Italians, Sofia Goggia and Marta Bassino, did not complete their runs.
Moltzan is pursuing her first individual world championship medal and expressed satisfaction with her skiing performance, noting, “I’m really happy with most of my skiing; I noticed that my last split was a bit slower compared to Fede.” Noting she had led Brignone by a narrow margin at the first split, she added, “The course has a slower tempo, so it’s essential to generate your own speed. I know there is some room for improvement, and that’s what I’ll pursue in my second run.”
Lara Gut-Behrami, the Olympic bronze medalist in giant slalom from Switzerland, finished 1.40 seconds behind Brignone, while Olympic champion Sara Hector of Sweden was three-hundredths of a second later in fifth place.
If Brignone wins, at 34 years and 7 months, she could become the oldest female medalist in the championship’s history, surpassing Lindsey Vonn, who was just over four months younger when she claimed downhill bronze in 2019. Vonn, returning from retirement at age 40 this season with a new titanium knee, no longer competes in giant slalom.
The opening run included 109 competitors but was paused for approximately 20 minutes due to a crash involving Greek skier Maria-Eleni Tsiovolou, who was subsequently airlifted to receive treatment for her injuries.
