The support for Ukrainian athletes at the Milan-Cortina Games suggests there may be challenges with reinstating Russia and Belarus for the LA28 Olympics.
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CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Mikaela Shiffrin’s Olympic woes continued Sunday, with the American skier finishing 11th in the women’s giant slalom at the Milan-Cortina Games.
Italy’s Federica Brignone won the race for her second gold of these Olympics, posting a combined time of 2 minutes and 13.50 seconds. Sweden’s Sara Hector and Norway’s Thea Louise St. Jernesund tied for silver (+0.62). Hector and St. Jernesund, stunningly, posted identical times in both of their runs — 1:03.97 in Run 1 and 1:10.15 in Run 2.
Shiffrin’s second run started strong but she lost time in the middle part of the course to finish in 1:10.17 combined time of 2:14.42 (+0.92).
Shiffrin, the all-time leader in World Cup wins, has failed to reach the podium in her last eight Olympic events. Although Shiffrin won gold in the giant slalom in the 2018 Olympics, her subsequent performances in Beijing in 2022, and last Tuesday in Cortina, have people wondering if the Games present a brick-wall mental block for her.
After all, she came into these Olympics having won seven of eight World Cup slalom races, and finishing second in the one she didn’t win.
Yet Tuesday, in the women’s combined, she was 15th out of 18 finishers. That was a disappointing debut for a legendary racer looking to bounce back from her last Olympic showing.
Four years ago, she was a favorite in Beijing but went 0 for 6 on podiums and failed to cross the finish line three times. Her best individual result was ninth in the super-G.
Sunday was all about Giant Slalom, a discipline in which Shiffrin holds the women’s record for most World Cup wins with 22.
But she has endured a long dry spell in the discipline in recent years. She didn’t have a top-three result in giant slalom between January 2024 — when she was runner-up at the race in Slovakia — until her third-place finish in Czechia last month. She failed to reach the podium in her 11 races in between.
That said, since the end of 2025, she has been steadily improving, going from sixth to fifth to fourth to third in World Cup finishes leading into the Olympics.
That upward trajectory was not evident in her first GS run Sunday morning. On a cool but sunny start to the day, she skied the course at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in 1:04.25 — best of the four Americans but 1.02 seconds off Brignone. That put Shiffrin in seventh place heading into the afternoon session.
MILAN — Before the final competitors hit the last turn, Jordan Stolz’s coach was already unfolding a U.S. flag.
The 21-year-old speedskating star won his second Olympic medal of the Milan-Cortina Games, setting an Olympic record in the 500 meters on Saturday at 33.77 seconds. He edged out the Nedtherlands’ Jenning de Boo, who was paired with Stolz and finished 0.11 seconds behind the U.S. star. Canada’s Laurent Debreuril took bronze at 34.26 seconds, which also stood as the Olympic record for three pairs before Stolz blazed through Milano Speed Skating Stadium.
Stolz is attempting an ambitious four-event program at the Milan-Cortina Games and already won the 1,000-meter gold medal this week. He will also compete in the 1,500 meters and the team pursuit.
Stolz is the first U.S. man to win the 500 meter at the Olympics since Joey Cheek in 2006. He is the first U.S. man to win gold in the 500 and 1,000 at the same Olympics since Eric Heiden in 1980.
He took a victory lap around the arena as red, white and blue-clad fans chanted “U-S-A!” Even the Dutch fans, forming a wall of bright orange all around the racing oval, clapped in admiration as Stolz held the U.S. flag above his head.
Gold medalist Jordan Stolz of the United States, center, celebrates on the podium with silver medalist Jenning de Boo of the Netherlands, left, and bronze medalist Laurent Dubreuil of Canada after the men’s 500 meters in speedskating at Winter Games on Saturday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)