Winter Olympics recap: Brignone’s double gold after broken leg, Klaebo sets a medal record
Feb 15, 2026, 8:34 AM
Italy's Federica Brignone shows her gold medal in an alpine ski, women's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
MILAN (AP) — Federica Brignone and Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo glided into history at the Winter Olympics on Sunday in very different ways.
Host nation Italy was delighted as Brignone’s sensational comeback continued with a second gold medal of the Olympics, still in pain after a badly broken leg last year.
Klaebo has the most gold medals of any Winter Olympian in history with nine after taking gold with Norway’s cross-country men’s relay team.
Winning one gold medal in super-G made Brignone feel like she was living in a movie.
What do great movies get? A sequel.
The Italian skier known as the Tiger was unbeatable in the giant slalom for her second gold of the Olympics and fifth career medal, breaking her own record as the oldest women’s Alpine skiing Olympic champion for good measure.
There were two silver medalists as Sara Hector and Thea Louise Stjernesund finished in exactly the same time and bowed to Brignone to mark her victory.
After breaking multiple bones in March, Brignone needed two surgeries and 42 stitches to put her leg back together. She only returned to skiing in January.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States was 11th and has now failed to win a medal in eight straight Olympic races since the Winter Games in 2018.
Klaebo stands alone as the most successful Winter Olympian of all time after winning his ninth career gold medal in cross-country skiing.
Norway’s Prime Minister was watching as Klaebo anchored his team’s relay gold Sunday. That broke a tie on eight gold medals with three other Norwegians: cross-country skiers Marit Bjoergen and Bjoern Daehlie and biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen.
Klaebo could get into double figures by the end of the Milan Cortina Games. His next chances for a 10th gold are in the team sprint on Wednesday or the 50-kilometer race on Saturday. He’s still only 29.
Mikael Kingsbury of Canada has won almost everything there is to win in moguls skiing. When they added a new Olympic event, he won that too.
Kingsbury took gold, his fifth career Olympic medal, in the inaugural dual moguls event Sunday, three days after settling for silver in the traditional moguls event in a surprise win for Australian Cooper Woods.
Britain won its first-ever Olympic gold in any snow sport with victory for Charlotte Bankes and Huw Nightingale in team snowboardcross.
Biathlon saw a first Olympic gold for Italy as Lisa Vitozzi won the women’s pursuit, hours after Sweden’s Martin Ponsiluoma’s surprise gold in the men’s event.
Later Sunday, Dutch speedskater Jutta Leerdam and Erin Jackson of the United States compete for the women’s 500-meter gold. Leerdam, whose fiance is influencer and boxer Jake Paul, is aiming for a second gold after winning the 1,000, while Jackson won the 500 at the 2022 Olympics and carried the U.S. flag at the opening ceremony in Milan.
Medals are also on offer in the women’s ski jumping large hill event and team skeleton. The pairs figure skating competition begins with the free skate and the United States plays Germany in men’s hockey aiming to secure a quarterfinal place.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
