Federica Brignone at the Super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo. © APA/afp / FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT

Gold! Brignone writes fairy tales in Cortina

Federica Brignone crowned herself Olympic champion in the women's Super-G on Thursday. The Italian thus wrote a fairytale of a very special kind.

February 12, 2026

From: never

Federica Brignone is an Olympic champion – a reality the Italian was light-years away from in April 2025. Just weeks after winning the overall World Cup title, she broke her tibia and fibula and tore her cruciate ligament. For a long time, her comeback was uncertain, but she returned at the World Cup in Kronplatz. and promptly trumpedThree and a half weeks later, she finally made the impossible possible: In the Super-G at the Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, the 35-year-old sensationally raced to gold.

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On a challenging Olimpia delle Tofane course, Brignone mastered the route set by Norwegian coach Thomas Rødseth with the right mix of risk and control – the latter being precisely what the veteran's competitors lacked. Emma Aicher, Ester Ledecka, Sofia Goggia, and even downhill Olympic champion Breezy Johnson all crashed out after careless mistakes. In total, 17 of the 43 racers failed to finish. Much more would have been possible, especially in the second sector: Brignone posted only the seventh-fastest time there (+0,68), while Goggia had been by far the fastest athlete before her elimination.

Frenchwoman prevents Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) double victory

Another beneficiary of these errors was the Frenchwoman Romane Miradoli. The 31-year-old, who celebrated her only World Cup victory in Lenzerheide (Super-G) in March 2022, finished 0,41 seconds behind Brignone to take silver. This prevented an Austrian one-two finish. Cornelia Hütter was delighted with bronze and her first Olympic medal, but her compatriot and Olympic team combined champion Ariane Rädler finished just one hundredth of a second behind, securing fourth place (+0,53).

Romane Miradoli took silver in the Super-G. © ANSA / JURE MAKOVEC

Besides Brignone and Goggia, two other Italians were at the start. Laura Pirovano (5th/+0,76) and Elena Curtoni (7th/+0,77) achieved top results.

Third Super-G gold for Italy

Brignone is not the first Italian to win the Olympic Super-G title. Before the two-time world champion, Deborah Compagnoni (1992) and Daniela Ceccarelli (2002) achieved this feat. South Tyrolean skiers Isolde Kostner (1994) and Karen Putzer (2002) each won bronze medals in this discipline, bringing further medal tally to Italy.

Federica Brignone is delighted with her fairytale success. © APA/afp / STEFANO RELLANDINI

At the current Winter Games, host nation Italy now has five gold, two silver, and seven bronze medals. The alpine skiing continues with the men's giant slalom next Saturday (starting at 10:00 a.m. at the...). SportNews(Live ticker). The women will also compete in the giant slalom the following day (starting at 10:00 a.m.).