On a perfect Italian day, three skiers offer a perfect Olympic moment
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Mark Sappenfield Senior global correspondent
| Cortina d鈥橝mpezzo, Italy
Every so often, the Olympics have that feeling of a slumber party where everyone is singing into their hairbrush.
You see it in the early rounds of figure skating, when the scores are lower, but the pure joy tends to be much more likely to set Olympic records. Or, frankly, any time the snowboarders and freestyle skiers take to the slopes. Each run is a party in motion.
On the most perfect Sunday afternoon in Cortina, however, three of the world鈥檚 top Alpine skiers turned the women鈥檚 giant slalom into such an unabashed celebration that they must have been wondering where the sheet cake and confetti were.
The headline was that Italian Federica Brignone won again. This was her second gold medal in four days and yet another addition to the lengthening conga line of Italian brilliance at these Winter Olympics. But somehow, that wasn鈥檛 one-tenth of the story.
The story was what Ms. Brignone had to endure just to get here. It was what her example meant to the women of the World Cup tour, where Ms. Brignone is dearly loved and universally respected. It was how masterfully she skied in winning her second Olympic gold after 37 World Cup victories and three Olympic medals (none gold) before the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
And it was how the two silver medalists, who somehow had managed to ski the exact same time on both of their two runs听burst from the kiss-and-cry area and, laughing at their own daring, bowed in gratitude and appreciation to the woman who could well be the face of these Games 鈥� not just for Italy, but for why the Olympics exist at all.
Olympians often say that simply making the Games is a victory. And that is true. But for Ms. Brignone, it was more than a victory. It was a defiance of all reasonable expectations. A crash in April left some question of whether she would ever be able to compete again.听
But Italy鈥檚 Olympics were 10 months later. And the skier known as 鈥渓a Tigre鈥� for her ferocious determination,听tiger helmet, and matching gloves wanted to try. Whether she won a medal was completely beside the point. She just wanted to be here for this moment.
She has done considerably more than just fill a bib number. She won the super-G on Thursday, and in Sunday鈥檚 giant slalom, she was in a different class. She led the race at every interval of her first and second runs, winning by 0.62 seconds.
The skiers who finished from second to eleventh, by contrast, all finished within 0.3 seconds of one another. And the two skiers who finished second did the extraordinary. Swede Sara Hector and Norwegian Thea Louise Stjernesund each skied the first run in 1:03.97 and the second in 1:10.15, which, in this case, added up to double silvers.
Given that they were the first two skiers down on the first run, they sat together at the bottom in the leader鈥檚 chair, crammed in chronological and Scandinavian sisterhood until dethroned by Ms. Brignone. There was no small amount of laughter as they waited.
鈥淚t was really nice to sit in the leaders鈥� chair together. A bit tight, but really nice to share this with Sara,鈥� said Ms. Stjernesund, whose surname translates to English as 鈥淪tar Sound,鈥� which, perhaps appropriately, sounds curiously like a character from My Little Pony.
Ms. Star Sound was not done with the mischief by a long shot. Once again rejoined by her Swedish sister in the leader鈥檚 chair after the second run and facing imminent dethronement by Queen Brignone, she came up with a plan.
鈥淚 said to Sara, 鈥榃e should bow for Fede,鈥� not just for the gold here, but for the super-G and for her being back [after injury]. She鈥檚 such a big part of our World Cup circuit and such a character, so I feel like she deserved it. And she was in her own league today.鈥�
Ms. Hector added of the double gold medalist: 鈥淪he鈥檚 mentally the strongest girl I think I鈥檝e ever met鈥�. I鈥檓 so happy for her because she鈥檚 super kind, and I like her a lot as a person. I feel like she deserves this so much.鈥�
And so as Ms. Brignone crossed the finish line and soaked in the rapturous applause, the two silver princesses rushed out to dutifully pay homage to their golden queen.
After the race, that sisterhood just kept expanding.
Ms. Stjernesund talked about how she would 鈥渘ever forget鈥� how the veteran Ms. Hector looked out for her in her first season on the World Cup circuit. 鈥淪he was so welcoming and talking to me like anyone else, and befriended me quickly, and was always supportive,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I had good runs, she was there right away, and if I had bad runs, she always came by.鈥�
Being kind to Ms. Stjernesund was easy, Ms. Hector said. 鈥淚鈥檓 happy to [win silver] with Thea, because she鈥檚 super nice, and I like her.鈥�
Ms. Brignone remembered how the giant slalom at the Beijing Olympics four years ago was an echo of today. 鈥淲ith Sara, we already shared an Olympic podium. She was first, I second. Sara is a great athlete, very humble, and fantastic. I cheer for her a lot.鈥�
But she couldn鈥檛 forget Ms. Stjernesund, of course. 鈥淎lso, Thea is fantastic and is always truly positive and nice,鈥� she said.
Around and around it went, without any hint of false praise. It was the spontaneous effusion of three women bound by a love of the sport 鈥� and for one another.
鈥淭here is a special respect amongst us,鈥� Ms. Brignone said. 鈥淭hey are great girls. Yes, there is competition, but not too much. I鈥檓 trying always to be kind and just myself. Maybe that鈥檚 why they kneeled, I don鈥檛 know.鈥�
Yes, it was. And for a moment caught in the warm midwinter sunshine, the three women opened that window the Olympics sometimes do, when sport becomes more than a medal table but instead a brief glimpse of what can be.
And maybe it was just the day, too. The sun. The cloudless sky, blushing Italian blue. The mischievous Scandinavian sisters. The athletic excellence. The Olympics, following their own fairy tale script.
鈥淚t was an amazing day. Blue skies. Perfect conditions. Very nice,鈥� said Ms. Hector.
And that, she added, could have only one ending, really: 鈥淚f there is one person I would want to give a gold to at the Olympics, it is Fede, so it makes me very happy to see her win.鈥�
