分类： sports

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Italian alpine skier Federica Brignone achieved a monumental career milestone Thursday by capturing her first Olympic gold medal in the women’s super-G event at the 2026 Winter Games. The 35-year-old champion completed a remarkable recovery journey less than a year after sustaining multiple fractures in her left leg that required two surgical procedures and extensive rehabilitation.

Brignone mastered the challenging Trofane course in foggy conditions with limited visibility, posting a winning time of 1:23.41. Her victory establishes her as the oldest female gold medalist in Olympic alpine skiing history and marks her fourth Olympic medal overall, matching Deborah Compagnoni’s record for most medals by an Italian women’s skier.

The technical course proved demanding for several top competitors. France’s Romane Miradoli secured silver while Austria’s Cornelia Huetter took bronze. Notable contenders including downhill specialist Breezy Johnson of the United States, who collided with a gate and ended in the safety fencing, and Italy’s Sofia Goggia, current World Cup super-G leader, failed to complete their runs successfully.

Brignone’s triumph held special significance as she served as one of Italy’s flag bearers during the opening ceremonies. Still experiencing discomfort from her previous injury, she had humorously requested curler Amos Mosaner to carry her on his shoulders during the procession. The victory sparked enthusiastic celebrations among Italian supporters and earned praise from skiing legend Lindsey Vonn, who tweeted congratulations acknowledging Brignone’s extraordinary comeback story.

In a remarkable display of cricketing prowess, Italy secured its first-ever victory at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a stunning 10-wicket triumph over Nepal at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. The Italian team, participating in only their second global cricket tournament, achieved this historic milestone through a dominant performance that saw them dismantle Nepal’s bowling attack in just 12.4 overs.

The foundation for Italy’s victory was laid by their bowling unit, particularly Sri Lanka-born wrist spinner Crishan Kalugamage, who delivered a decisive performance with figures of 3-18. Kalugamage’s crucial wickets included that of Nepal captain Rohit Paudel, helping restrict the Himalayan nation to a modest total of 123 runs, completed with three balls remaining in their innings.

The chase became a spectacular family affair as the Sydney-raised Mosca brothers, Anthony and Justin, orchestrated a flawless batting exhibition. Their unbeaten partnership of 124-0 marked only the eighth 10-wicket victory in the history of men’s T20 World Cup cricket. Anthony Mosca’s explosive 62 not out from 32 balls, complemented by Justin’s steady 60 not out from 44 deliveries, featured an impressive array of nine sixes and eight boundaries that systematically dismantled Nepal’s bowling attack.

This victory places Italy alongside the Netherlands as only the second non-British European nation to win a match in the T20 World Cup. The result comes as a particular disappointment for Nepal, who had previously demonstrated strong form by nearly defeating England at the same venue just days earlier.

In concurrent tournament action, Sri Lanka delivered a crushing 105-run victory over Oman in Pallekele. Captain Dasun Shanaka broke his own national record for the fastest Twenty20 half-century, reaching 50 runs in just 19 balls. Supported by Kusal Mendis (61) and Pavan Rathnayake (60), Sri Lanka posted a tournament-high 225-5 against Oman’s weakened bowling attack. Oman struggled in response, managing only 120-9, with off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana leading Sri Lanka’s bowling with figures of 2-11 from four overs.

Despite the lopsided result, Oman’s 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem achieved personal distinction by becoming the oldest player to score a half-century in T20 World Cup history, finishing unbeaten on 53 from 56 balls.

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — The Canadian men’s curling team launched their Olympic redemption quest with a nail-biting 7-6 victory over Germany that required an extra end during Wednesday’s opening round-robin session. Skip Brad Jacobs, returning to Olympic ice for the first time since his gold medal performance in Sochi 2014, delivered a clutch final stone that secured the hard-fought win.

The dramatic conclusion saw Jacobs execute perfect precision under immense pressure, deftly removing a German stone from the house while positioning his own rock perfectly in the button for the decisive point. “It’s been a long time for me—I’m cherishing every moment of this,” an emotional Jacobs remarked post-game. “This is spectacular.”

Germany had forced the extra end with a remarkable two-point play on the final shot of the tenth end, tying the score at 6-6 and extending the contest in the evening’s final match at Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium.

The session featured multiple tight contests, with Italy delivering an upset victory over defending champion Sweden by identical 7-6 margin amid roaring home crowd support. Britain dominated China 9-4 with an end to spare, while the United States narrowly defeated Czechia 8-7.

This opening victory carries particular significance for Canada, traditionally considered curling’s dominant force. The nation faces heightened pressure following the mixed doubles team’s failure to reach semifinals in Cortina. The international curling landscape has undergone significant transformation over the past decade, with Canada’s last Olympic medal in men’s curling remaining Jacobs’ gold from twelve years ago. Since then, Sweden and the United States have captured gold medals while Canada managed only one bronze.

Teammate Marc Kennedy addressed the evolving competitive landscape: “People need to understand how difficult international curling is these days. These teams are good, these players have been around a long time. Many come to Canada to refine their game, and they now match or exceed most Canadian teams. That expectation of automatic medal contention has disappeared—it’s a tough battle out there.”

The women’s curling competition commences Thursday, following Sweden’s mixed doubles victory over the United States in Tuesday’s final.

In a stunning upset on their home track, Italian lugers Andrea Voetter and Marion Oberhofer captured the first-ever Olympic gold medal in women’s doubles luge at the Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Games. The pair, who had not won a single World Cup event this season and were largely overlooked as contenders, delivered a flawless performance under pressure to finish in 1 minute, 46.204 seconds.

The victory came against formidable competition, with German silver medalists Dajana Eitberger (2018 women’s singles silver medalist) and Magdalena Matschina finishing just two-tenths of a second behind (1:46.404). The Austrian duo of Selina Egle and Lara Kipp secured bronze with a time of 1:46.543.

Notably absent from the historic race were several top teams due to restrictive qualification rules. Only 11 sleds were permitted to compete with a maximum of one per nation, excluding world-leading German pair Jessica Degenhardt and Cheyenne Rosenthal, along with the top American team of Maya Chan and Sophia Gordon. This exclusion sparked controversy within the sport, as four sleds that failed to qualify for the Olympics had outperformed the Italian champions in World Cup standings throughout the season.

The American representatives Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby finished fifth (1:47.565) but earned a permanent place in Olympic history as the first women’s doubles sled to compete in the Games.