Swiss skier Meillard wins last GS before Olympics and denies Pinheiro Braathen 2nd win for Brazil

SCHLADMING, Austria (AP) — Loic Meillard has won the last men’s World Cup giant slalom before the Olympics, denying Lucas Pinheiro Braathen what would have been his second victory for Brazil.

Pinheiro Braathen narrowly led Meillard after Tuesday's opening run but couldn’t hold on to his advantage after the Swiss skier posted the second-fastest time in the final run.

Last November, Pinheiro Braathen won a slalom in Finland to give Brazil its maiden victory in a top-level ski race.

Meillard won Tuesday's race under the floodlights on the icy Planai course by 0.73 seconds for his second World Cup victory of the season and ninth overall.

“It's always been a slope that I liked. And good memories from the first victory in GS and to win again here is amazing,” said Meillard, who also won the event three years ago.

“I know the form is getting better and better, I would say, in the last few weeks," said the Swiss skier, whose best Olympic result is fifth from the 2022 slalom.

Pinheiro Braathen was fastest in the opening run to prove again he is an Olympic medal contender for Brazil not just in slalom.

Pinheiro Braathen has two GS wins from the time he was competing for Norway but is chasing his first victory in the discipline since his switch to the Brazilian ski federation in 2024.

“I really had the feeling that the victory would be mine today, I had such a good feeling,” said Pinheiro Braathen, who has racked up five podium results in GS — all second places — since his nation switch, including three in the current season.

“But it is OK, I didn’t find the speed in the second run. I’m impressed with Loic.”

Pinheiro Braathen stepped away from the sport in October 2023 following a dispute with the Norwegian ski federation over his personal marketing rights, but returned a year later to represent Brazil, his mother’s native country.

Unheralded Alban Elezi Cannaferina clocked the fastest second-run and the Frenchman improved from eighth position to third, 0.90 behind Meillard, for his first career podium.

Elezi Cannaferina was the 2023 junior world champion and had an 11th place from a GS in Norway last March as his best World Cup result so far.

His stunning final run bumped Olympic GS champion Marco Odermatt off the podium and into fourth, 0.36 behind the Frenchman. Odermatt lost time early in his second run when he struggled for balance and nearly skied out with his right leg in the air, though the Swiss star ultimately managed to stay in the course.

Odermatt remained in the lead of the GS standings with 450 points, 103 clear of Pinheiro Braathen, with two more races scheduled after the Olympics.

A night slalom on the same hill is scheduled for Wednesday.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Switzerland's Loic Meillard celebrates with second placed Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, back to camera, after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Loic Meillard on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Loic Meillard, centre, winner of alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom, poses with second placed Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, left, and third placed France's Alban Elezi Cannaferina, in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Loic Meillard on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Loic Meillard speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup giant slalom in Schladming, Austria, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Iran fired missiles at Israel and some Gulf nations while explosions could be heard around Tehran and the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday, as the United States prepared to further reinforce its already significant military forces in the Middle East.

As the war that began Feb. 28 was to enter its sixth week, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait warned about incoming missile fire, although it was unclear if anything was struck. Activists reported strikes around Tehran and the central city of Isfahan but it wasn’t immediately clear what was hit.

Iran’s attacks on Gulf region energy infrastructure and its tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing.

Oil prices surged while Asian financial markets rose moderately during cautious trading. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.

U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. forces will keep hitting Iran “very hard” in the next two or three weeks.

The largest American aircraft carrier in service sailed out of Split, in Croatia and “remains poised for full mission tasking in support of national objectives in any area of operation,” the Navy’s 6th Fleet announced.

It was unclear where it was going. The USS Abraham Lincoln remains in the Arabian Sea and the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier departed Norfolk on Wednesday to head to the Mideast.

Here is the latest:

Oil prices continued to surge on worries of a prolonged Iran war but the Asian markets that were open Friday rose moderately in cautious trading, while others were closed for the Good Friday holidays.

Benchmark U.S. crude rose 11.4% to $111.54 a barrel. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 7.8% to $109.03 per barrel.

The U.S. only relies on the Persian Gulf for a fraction of the oil it imports, but oil is a commodity and prices are set in a global market.

The situation is very different in Asia. Japan, for example, relies on access to the Strait of Hormuz for much of the nation’s oil import needs and would need to rely on alternative routes. But some analysts say Japan and oher nations are counting on an agreement with Iran to allow transports.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9% in Friday morning trading to 52,938.62. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 2.1% to 5,344.41. The Shanghai Composite sank 0.5% to 3,899.57. Trading was closed in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and India.

Wall Street, where trading is closed Friday, finished its first winning week since the start of the Iran war, although trading started out with a decline driven by a surge in oil prices.

Bangladesh is curtailing office hours and enforcing early closure of malls and shops beginning Friday to handle its energy crisis related to the war.

The country’s cabinet ordered 30% spending cuts for fuel and power at government offices, suspended some staff training and stopped purchases of new vehicles, ships and aircraft. Decorative lighting will not be allowed for celebrations.

Bangladesh, a nation of more than 170 million people, is seeking alternative fuel sources and $2.5 billion in external financing for imports, which account for 95% of its fuel.

Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Friday urged motorists getting away for a long weekend during the Easter holiday to fill up in cities because most of the nation’s fuel shortages are in rural areas.

Among 2,400 gas stations in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, 182 had run out of diesel by Friday.

In Australia’s second-most populous state, Victoria, 76 gas stations were out of diesel. In the remaining states ranked by the most populous first, Queensland had 75 stations without diesel, Western Australia had 37, South Australia had 28 and in Tasmania there were seven.

“For those Australians planning a road trip this weekend, given our shortages are predominantly in rural and regional Australia, it makes sense to fill up in the city to help the country if you can,” Bowen said in Sydney.

The government, which blamed regional shortages on panic buying and distribution problems, is concentrating on delivering fuel to farmers for planting crops.

Israeli security forces and rescue teams inspect a site struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel,Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Members from the Popular Mobilization Forces attend a funeral of fighters who were killed in a U.S. airstrike, in Tal Afar, Nineveh province, north of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

A man with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon sits on a bed at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A boy who fled with his family following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon sits inside the van they are using as shelter in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

President Donald Trump arrives from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)