Bassino edges Shiffrin as Italy goes 2-for-2 at ski worlds

MERIBEL, France — Two days after Federica Brignone won the gold medal in the combined to open the skiing world championships, Italian teammate Marta Bassino added another in the super-G by edging Mikaela Shiffrin.

And Sofia Goggia will be a favorite for yet another Italian victory in Saturday’s downhill, with Elena Curtoni a strong contender, too.

Italy sure is looking good so far, even before Bassino tries to defend her title in the parallel race, and she and Brignone go for gold in the giant slalom.

“Federica had a great performance. It was something that inspired me a lot, because a lot of times she inspires me. The attitude to attack the slope and push every turn,” Bassino said. “I was thinking, ‘We are teammates, we work together, I can do the same thing.’”

Shiffrin had to settle for silver in the super-G on Wednesday, two days after she didn’t finish the second leg of the combined. Goggia finished 11th.

“Great, now the pressure is on me,” Goggia said. “First Fede, then Marta and, and, and let’s see.”

Bassino earned her second gold medal at the world championships after sharing victory with Austrian skier Katharina Liensberger in the parallel event at her home worlds two years ago.

She became the second Italian skier to win the women’s super-G world title. Isolde Kostner won back-to-back golds in the mid-1990s, while Deborah Compagnoni won the Olympic super-G title in Meribel at the 1992 Albertville Games.

Bassino has yet to win a super-G on the World Cup circuit, but did finish third in two races in January.

“I’m speechless. It’s my first win in super-G, and here at the world championships. It is something I have to realize,” Bassino said. “Today I just did a great last part because I lost a lot of time in the first part. I was really suffering watching all the other girls coming down. I’m really happy and confident in myself. It’s really a great result for me.”

Shiffrin said she expected Bassino to do well after seeing her shortly before the race.

“I could see her in the start, she looked in the right zone,” Shiffrin said. “I could see she has the flow and I (was) like: Now I have to focus on myself and stop looking at Marta.”

Shiffrin, who won super-G gold in 2019 and bronze two years ago, led Bassino by three-tenths of a second at the second split but couldn’t match the Italian’s pace in the last part of the course and finished second, 0.11 seconds behind.

Cornelia Huetter of Austria and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway tied for third, 0.33 seconds behind, to share the bronze medal.