Nicol Delago earns Italy's ski team another win as home Olympics near. Lindsey Vonn 3rd in downhill

TARVISIO, Italy (AP) — The Italian ski team is on a roll with less than three weeks to go before a home Olympics. And so is 41-year-old Lindsey Vonn.

Nicol Delago claimed her first World Cup victory in a downhill on home snow Saturday, with Vonn in third place for her fifth podium in five downhills this season.

Delago matched Italian teammate Giovanni Franzoni, who claimed his first victory in a super-G in Wengen, Switzerland, on Friday.

“It certainly hasn’t always been easy over the years, so today is huge,” Delago said. “Yesterday I watched the video of Franzoni’s race and that provided extra motivation.”

The Milan Cortina Winter Games open on Feb. 6 with the women racing in Cortina d’Ampezzo and the men in Bormio.

Delago, who also led the final training session on Friday, finished 0.20 seconds ahead of Kira Weidle-Winkelmann of Germany and 0.26 ahead of Vonn.

Delago’s previous best finishes were three second-place results and two third-place results. Her younger sister, Nadia, won the bronze medal in downhill at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

Nadia Delago was 10th Saturday.

“We motivate each other both on the positive days and the negative days,” Nicol Delago said of her sister.

It was the first World Cup downhill in Tarvisio in 15 years and Vonn was one of only two athletes in the current field who had raced it before. In her six previous races in Tarvisio across downhill, super-G and super-combined, Vonn earned two wins and four runner-up finishes.

“I don’t really remember the track,” Vonn said. “But I do remember that the atmosphere was amazing and the people were amazing. ... And I met some fans earlier and they were singing songs about me. It was awesome. So I’m so happy to be back on the podium again under tough conditions. So it couldn’t be better.”

In the downhill standings, Vonn increased her advantage to 144 points ahead of Emma Aicher of Germany. Four World Cup downhills remain this season.

In the overall standings, Vonn moved up to third place with 510 points, trailing only American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin (923 points) and Camille Rast (753) — neither of whom are currently racing downhill.

The race was characterized by fog hovering over the course midway down — limiting visibility.

Nicol Delago nearly lost control in the foggy section as her skis split apart. But she quickly recovered and then added to her advantage at every check point. At the finish, she celebrated with a big smile and kissed one of her skis, even though with the No. 3 bib most of the favorites were still to come down.

Vonn was fastest at both speed checks, registering 136.3 kph (84.7 mph) on top. But with such high speed she veered off course into fresh snow midway down — slowing her slightly.

The Olympic downhill in Cortina is scheduled for Feb. 8.

A super-G is scheduled for Tarvisio on Sunday.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Lindsey Vonn speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Nicol Delago right, winner of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, hugs her sister Italy's Nadia Delago as they pose for a photograph, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates taking third place in an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Nicol Delago celebrates after winning an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italy's Nadia Delago celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Germany's Kira Weidle Winkelmann speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Nicol Delago right, hugs her sister Italy's Nadia Delago at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Germany's Kira Weidle Winkelmann celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' Lindsey Vonn, center, smiles at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italy's Nicol Delago speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Lindsey Vonn celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italy's Nicol Delago celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's World Cup downhill, in Tarvisio, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in nearly a year, driving up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers.

The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.55% from 6.49% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.75%.

Higher mortgage rates can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power at a time when affordability challenges continue to sideline many aspiring homeowners.

Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy decisions to bond market investors’ expectations for the economy and inflation. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

Rates have been mostly rising this year as the war with Iran has driven crude oil prices sharply higher, stoking expectations of hotter inflation. That's pushed up long-term bond yields relative to where they were before the conflict began in late February, causing mortgage rates to trend higher.

The 10-year Treasury yield was 4.57% at midday Thursday on the bond market, up from 4.54% a week ago. It was just 3.97% in late February, before the war broke out.

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage is now the highest it's been since Aug. 28, when it was at 6.56%. As recently as late February, the average rate dropped slightly below 6% for the first time since late 2022.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, often sought by borrowers refinancing a home loan, also rose this week. That average rate increased to 5.93% from 5.82% last week. A year ago, it was at 5.92%, Freddie Mac said.

A report this week showing prices paid by consumers for gas, clothes and other goods cooled last month could help take pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is considering raising interest rates.

The central bank doesn’t set mortgage rates, but its decisions to raise or lower its short-term rate are watched closely by bond investors and can ultimately affect the yield on 10-year Treasurys.

That cooler inflation reading “is a step in the right direction, but until mortgage rates actually follow suit, buyers will keep feeling the pinch of stubbornly high borrowing costs even as other conditions improve,” said Hannah Jones, senior economist at Realtor.com.

While average long-term mortgage rates remain lower than they were at this time last year, their upward trajectory has weighed on home sales this year.

And the latest monthly tally of home purchase transactions that have yet to be finalized points to potentially more sluggish home sales this summer.

Pending U.S. home sales fell 5.4% in June from the previous months and were down 0.3% from June last year, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. There’s usually a month or two lag between a contract signing and when the sale is finalized, which makes pending home sales a near-term bellwether for the housing market.

Data on mortgage applications also signal that the upward trend in mortgage rates has given some would-be homebuyers reason to pause.

Mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, fell 2.7% last week from the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The pullback was driven mainly by a 7% drop in applications to buy a home.

FILE - A sign is posted for a new home for sale in Ambler, Pa., Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)