WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Norwegian skier Atle Lie McGrath won the Wengen World Cup slalom Sunday for a second consecutive year and added to his status as a favorite for next month's Olympics.
The United States-born McGrath added to his first-run advantage and finished 0.47 seconds ahead of good friend Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, the Norwegian-born skier now competing for Brazil, and 0.81 ahead of teammate Henrik Kristoffersen.
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Norway's Atle Lie McGrath kisses his skis as he celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Switzerland's Loic Meillard competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
It was McGrath's fifth career win and 19th podium on the World Cup circuit. He also took silver in slalom at last season’s world championships. It was his second win of the season after a slalom victory in Alta Badia, Italy, last month.
“It’s one of the legendary races, so to do it with Lucas and with Henrik is just insane,” McGrath said.
Two more slaloms remain before the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics open on Feb. 6, with the men competing in Bormio.
McGrath’s father Felix competed for the U.S. at the 1988 Calgary Olympics in slalom and giant slalom. His mother is Norwegian and competed in cross-country skiing for the University of Vermont.
McGrath was careful on the opening gates during both runs and then accelerated on the steepest section of the Männlichen course to open up his advantage. In the finish area after both runs, he kicked off his ski and caught it like retired Swiss great Didier Cuche used to do.
“I saw some words that said, ‘Would you rather take 10 risks and get nine of them, or take a 100 risks and get ten of them?’ “I’m skiing a 100 risks and today I got one of them," McGrath said. “That was one of the best second runs of my career.”
When the race was over, McGrath and Pinheiro Braathen, who are both 25 — they were born two days apart — shared a rollicking embrace.
“Thinking back to the days when we were young and skiing together, how much I had to push," McGrath said. "I just pushed everything I had and tried to be a bit tactical. I really skied like I had no lead.”
There was also something to celebrate for Kristoffersen, who earned the 100th podium of his career.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath kisses his skis as he celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Switzerland's Loic Meillard competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath competes in an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, in Wengen, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciott)
BERLIN (AP) — The eight European countries targeted by U.S. President Donald Trump for a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland blasted the move Sunday, warning that the American leader's threats “undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
In an unusual and very strong joint statement coming from major U.S. allies, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland on Sunday said troops sent to Greenland for the Danish military training exercise “Arctic Endurance” pose “no threat to anyone.”
Trump's Saturday announcement sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security.
“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland," the group said. “Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral.”
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity."
Trump's move was also panned domestically.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Trump’s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need.”
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on social media. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”
Six of the countries targeted are part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was not immediately clear if Trump's tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.
The tariff announcement even drew blowback from Trump's populist allies in Europe.
Italy’s right-wing premier, Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said Sunday she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as “a mistake.”
The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni told reporters. She said the deployment was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against “other actors” that she didn’t name.
French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on social media that “no intimidation or threats will influence us, whether in Ukraine, Greenland or anywhere else in the world when we are faced with such situations." He added that "tariff threats are unacceptable and have no place in this context.”
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., describing Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail.”
Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties — including the hard-right Reform UK party — all of whom criticized the tariff threat.
“We don’t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us,” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Trump, wrote on social media. He stopped short of criticizing Trump's designs on Greenland.
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the center-left Labour Party, said the tariffs announcement was “completely wrong” and his government would “be pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration.”
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.
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Leicester reported from Paris and Cook from Brussels. Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, Aamer Madhani in Washington and Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
A crowd walks to the US consulate to protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A boy holds a crossed out map of Greenland topped by a hairpiece symbolizing U.S. President Donald Trump, during a protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
