Brignone wins giant slalom for 2nd gold medal of the Olympics, Shiffrin finishes 11th

CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Federica Brignone was taking in the magnitude of winning a second gold of her home Winter Olympics when the two silver-medalists approached the Italian skiing star in the finish area, dropped to their knees and bowed toward her.

Call her the Queen of the Dolomites.

The 35-year-old Brignone couldn’t walk for three months early last year. Now she is a double Olympic champion after winning the giant slalom with some ease on Sunday, barely 72 hours after powering to a super-G title that she felt was like something out of a Hollywood movie.

She delivered quite the sequel, taking a lead of 0.34 seconds after the first run and then putting in a clean second run in gorgeous conditions amid the jagged peaks of the Dolomite mountains above Cortina.

Brignone finished 0.62 seconds ahead of defending champion Sara Hector of Sweden and Thea Louise Stjernesund of Norway, who shared the silver medal.

“I was almost too calm," Brignone said, "... I thought I had a so-so run and when I reached the finish and saw that I was first, I just heard screams and it was just crazy.”

Her beaten rivals — and they included U.S. standout Mikaela Shiffrin, who finished down in 11th place — were in awe.

“That was, like, the greatest show of GS skiing that we’ve had in a really long time,” Shiffrin said. “And to do it, you know, at the Olympics where people actually have eyes on the sport. Federica skied incredible. That was so cool to watch.”

It wasn't so joyous for Shiffrin.

The American didn't quite have the speed of Brignone or a number of her rivals in either run on a fairly flat course set by her own head coach, Karin Harjo, and ended 0.92 seconds off the lead. She has now failed to win a medal in eight straight Olympic races since the Winter Games in 2018.

Finishing just 0.30 seconds off second place suggested, however, there might be more to come from Shiffrin and redemption for perhaps the greatest ever Alpine skier might arrive in her best event — the slalom — on Wednesday.

“To be here now, like, within touch of the fastest women, that’s huge for me,” Shiffrin said. “So I’m proud of that.”

Indeed, Shiffrin smiled and waved to the fans in the grandstand with both hands after her second run when she already knew she’d be out of the medals, not showing any outward signs of disappointment.

By that time, the locals were waiting for Brignone to come down the sun-kissed Olympia delle Tofane course for a second gold in four days.

She didn't disappoint.

It completes a stunning comeback for the popular Brignone, who was world champion in the GS in February last year before breaking multiple bones in her left leg in March that required surgery, a handful of screws and a metal plate to repair, and left her unable to walk until the summer. Heck, she only returned to racing barely a month ago.

A day doesn't go by when Brignone doesn't feel pain — “I would exchange my two gold medals to come back and not have this injury,” she said — yet she skied through it in a pair of runs her rivals couldn't find fault with.

“I had the suggestion that we should bow to Fede,” Stjernesund said of her post-race gesture to Brignone, “not only because of this gold she got but considering her gold in super-G, being back and being such a big part of our sport and such a big profile. It means a lot to give her that confirmation.”

Before these home Games, Brignone had a silver and two bronzes at the Olympics. Now she has the big one — twice — and the loud home crowd lapped it up, chanting ‘FE-de, FE-de, FE-de’ during the medal ceremony.

“This is better than a dream," she said. "It's unimaginable.”

This story has been corrected in the summary and third paragraph to say Brignone also won the super-G title, not the downhill.

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

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)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, women's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin at the finish area of 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)

Bronze medalist Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund, right, and silver medalist Sweden's Sara Hector, center, celebrate with gold medal's winner Italy's Federica Brignone, left, following an alpine ski, women's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Italy's Federica Brignone celebrates at the finish area of 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)

Italy's Federica Brignone celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Sweden's Sara Hector, right, and Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund bow to Italy's Federica Brignone, center, at the finish area of 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)

Italy's Federica Brignone celebrates at the finish area of 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)

Italy's Sofia Goggia speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, women's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

United States' Mikaela Shiffrin speeds down the course, during an alpine ski, women's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Italy's Federica Brignone at the finish area of an alpine ski, women's giant slalom race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Italy's Federica Brignone competes during 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)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel will begin a contentious land regulation process in a large part of the occupied West Bank, which could result in Israel gaining control over wide swaths of the area for future development, according to a government decision on Sunday.

The decision paves the way for the resumption of “settlement of land title” processes, which had been frozen in the West Bank since the Mideast War in 1967. It means that when Israel begins the land registration process for a certain area, anyone with a claim to the land must submit documents proving ownership.

“This move is very dramatic and allows the state to gain control of almost all of Area C,” said Hagit Ofran, the director of Israeli anti-settlement watchdog group Peace Now. Area C refers to the 60% of the West Bank that is under full Israeli military control, according to agreements reached in the 1990s with the Palestinians.

The decision is the latest step to deepen Israeli control over the West Bank. In recent months, Israel has greatly expanded construction in Jewish settlements, legalized outposts and made significant bureaucratic changes to its policies in the territory to strengthen its hold and weaken the Palestinian Authority.

Sunday's decision was first announced last May but required further development before it was approved in this week’s Cabinet meeting.

Under the decision, Israeli authorities will announce certain areas to undergo registration, which will force anyone who has a claim to the land to prove their ownership.

Ofran said the process for proving ownership can be “draconian” and is rarely transparent, meaning any land that undergoes the registration process in areas currently owned by Palestinians is likely to revert to Israeli state control.

“Palestinians will be sent to prove ownership in a way that they will never be able to do,” Ofran told The Associated Press. "And this way Israel might take over 83% of the Area C, which is about half of the West Bank.”

The registration process could start as soon as this year, she said.

The proposal had been put forward by some of Israel’s far-right members of the ruling coalition, including the Minister of Justice Yariv Levin. “The government of Israel is committed to strengthening its grip on all its parts, and this decision is an expression of that commitment,” he said.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ office in a statement called the decision “a grave escalation and a flagrant violation of international law,” which amounts to “de facto annexation.” It called on the international community, especially the U.N. Security Council and the United States, to intervene immediately.

Previous U.S. administrations have sharply condemned an expansion of Israeli activity and control in the West Bank, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a particularly close relationship with President Donald Trump. The two met last week in Washington, their seventh meeting in the past year.

And yet Trump has opposed annexation, Ofran noted.

Palestinians are not permitted to sell land privately to Israelis, though measures announced last week aim to nullify this. Currently, settlers can buy homes on land controlled by Israel’s government. Last week's decision also aimed to expand Israeli enforcement of several aspects of in the West Bank, including environmental and archaeological matters in Palestinian-administered areas.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 from Jordan and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Jordan's Foreign Ministry in a statement called on the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities, and to compel Israel, the occupying power, to stop its dangerous escalation.”

Over 300,000 Palestinians are estimated to live in Area C of the West Bank, with many more in surrounding communities dependent on its agricultural and grazing lands, including plots for which families retain land deeds or tax records dating back decades.

Associated Press journalist Areej Hazboum in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Palestinians walk along the separation barrier between the West Bank and east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, Sunday Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Palestinians walk along the separation barrier between the West Bank and east Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina, Sunday Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)