Federica Brignone shows competitive skiing on return from injury with Olympics approaching

SAN VIGILIO DI MAREBBE, Italy (AP) — Defending overall World Cup champion Federica Brignone is back skiing after a nine-month injury layoff and already competitive with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics little more than two weeks away.

Mikaela Shiffrin, meanwhile, keeps regaining ground in giant slalom.

Austria’s Julia Scheib, though, is the racer to beat in GS.

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.

“It was really tough with all of the emotions I had today, so I was really happy to see the green light,” Brignone said. “It’s been nine difficult, tough months, so I’m proud of myself. It was all new again for me in terms of emotions. I’m really happy that I raced today. If I had waited for the Olympics to return it might have all been too much.”

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 — 42 stitches to put her leg back together — 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 won’t compete in the next set of technical races this weekend in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic. Instead, she’ll head to nearby Cortina d’Ampezzo, where the women will race during the Olympics, for some speed training.

“I want to see if I’m able to participate in the races. I need to gain a bit more confidence so I can really charge,” Brignone said. “Right now, I make two or three good turns and then I hold back on the next one. But I’m leaving San Vigilio happy and confident.”

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

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.

Also for the U.S. team, Paula Moltzan was eighth and 20-year-old Elisabeth Bocock was a career-best 12th.

Nina O’Brien had fast splits in her second run before losing control on the steep slope midway down. The American 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