Super G, Women

The Super G was the third women’s Alpine skiing race in Cortina, a course that had a long tradition of women’s Super G races in World Cup going back to 1993. The Super G World Cup season had New Zealand’s Alice Robinson (St. Moritz), Italy’s Sofia Goggia (Val-d’Isère), Germany’s Emma Aicher (Tarvisio), and Swiss skier Malorie Blanc (in the last race before the Games in Crans-Montana) as four different winners in the four races. Goggia led the standings in front of Robinson with the USA’s Lindsey Vonn in third place, but Vonn could not compete after her crash in the downhill four days earlier.

Also not present were Lara Gut-Behrami, winner of the Super G gold medal in 2022, winner of the last three consecutive Super G Crystal Globes (2023-25), and Super G winner in Cortina 2024; Marta Bassino (World Champion 2023), Stephanie Venier (World Champion 2025), and Ragnhild Mowinckel (Super G winner in Cortina 2023). While Gut-Behrami and Bassino were out due to injuries, Venier (2025) and Mowinckel (2023) had retired. Back in action just before the Games was Italian Federica Brignone, overall World Cup winner in 2025 and winner of the last World Cup Super G here in Cortina in January 2025. In April 2025 she sustained a tibia injury in a fall and returned to competition only three weeks before the Games, with only two World Cup starts.

Sensationally Brignone won the race in only her third start after the injury. France’s Romane Miradoli took silver and Conny Hütter (AUT) secured bronze in a demanding and selective race in which 17 out of 43 starters did not finish the race; notably, all three medalists from the downhill race – Breezy Johnson, Aicher, and Goggia – did not complete the course. With her win Brignone became the oldest Alpine skiing gold medalist of any gender aged 35-213, surpassing Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, who was 35-051 in winning the 2018 men’s downhill. Brignone won gold on skis from Rossignol, while Miradoli trusted Dynastar, and Hütter won another medal for Head.

Racing last with bib #43 and finishing in 26th place was Sarah Schleper, representing Mexico. She competed at her seventh Olympics, four for the USA and three for Mexico, setting a record for Olympic participations in Alpine skiing surpassing the previous record holders Marco Büchel (LIE) and Hubertus von Hohenlohe (MEX). Schleper’s son, Lasse Gaxiola, also competed in Alpine skiing at MiCo26, making them the first mother-child combination to compete together at the same Winter Olympics.