The alpine skiing events at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo and Bormio featured standout performances and setbacks. American Mikaela Shiffrin claimed gold in the women's slalom to close the programme, while Switzerland dominated the men's side. AFP Sport highlighted six key moments from the two-week competition.
The 2026 Winter Olympics alpine skiing programme concluded with Mikaela Shiffrin's gold in the women's slalom in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Wednesday. The 30-year-old American won by nearly two seconds, overcoming a disappointing Beijing 2022 where she failed to medal and did not finish three of six races. Shiffrin, who previously won slalom gold in Sochi 2014 and giant slalom in Pyeongchang 2018, said: "Showing up, that was the thing I wanted most, more than the medal. To also get to have a medal is unbelievable."
Switzerland's men's team excelled, securing four of five golds and eight of 15 medals. Franjo von Allmen, 24, won downhill and super-G in Bormio, plus team combined gold with Tanguy Nef. Loic Meillard took slalom gold, a silver and a bronze, while Marco Odermatt earned two silvers and a bronze. Von Allmen joined Toni Sailer (1956) and Jean-Claude Killy (1968) as the only men with three alpine golds at one Olympics. He remarked: "Ski history is not that important for me, even if that sounds strange. It's all about the here and now."
Other highs included Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, Norwegian-born and competing for his mother's country, winning giant slalom gold for South America's first Winter Olympic medal. He stated: "It goes without saying that I'm so beyond proud. I still have this sun inside of me that's just blossoming." Italy's Federica Brignone, 35, won super-G and giant slalom golds just 10 months after a leg break, matching Alberto Tomba's 1988 double. She said: "It was such a surprise, a great surprise even to be here that all I did was try to stay relaxed, enjoy every moment."
Setbacks marked the event too. Lindsey Vonn, 41, returned after five years post-knee replacement but ruptured her ACL a week before, then crashed in downhill, breaking her left leg and requiring four operations. She reflected: "My Olympic dream did not finish the way I dreamt it would... In downhill ski racing the difference between a strategic line and a catastrophic injury can be as small as five inches." Norway's Atle Lie McGrath led the men's slalom first run but skied out in the second, amid grief over his grandfather's death. He said: "I'm normally a guy that's very good when it comes to perspective on things... That's not been the case."
