Federica Brignone Breaks Record After Winning Skiing World Cup Opener

Federica Brignone, a 34-year-old skier just broke a record during the World Cup Opener on Saturday.

Feb 17, 2022; Yanqing, China; Frederica Brignone (ITA) celebrates after winning the bronze medal in the women s alpine skiing combined event during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games at Yanqing Alpine Skiing Centre. Mandatory Credit: Harrison Hill-Imagn Images / Harrison Hill-Imagn Images

The Alpine Ski World Cup kicked off today, October 26, in Sӧlden, Austria and Federica Brignone's performance was nothing short of astonishing.

Brignone, an Italian alpine ski racer, cruised to first place ahead of Julia Scheib and Alice Robinson while Mikaela Shiffrin fell back to fifth place. Brignone's incredible win broke a noteworthy record as she became the oldest woman to win a World Cup race.

The previous record-holder for this title was Elisabeth Gӧrgl, a strong athlete from Austria. In 2014, she won a super-G at 33-years-old, according to NBC Sports.

Shriffin was on track to win her 98th World Cup win, but the competition took a nail-biting turn when she dropped to fifth after making a mistake on her second run. However, Shiffrin remains focused and stated, "Normally these differences are kind of simple to fix. Just requires some determination. I tried to take some risk, but maybe in the wrong way."

As mentioned by NBC Sports, Federica Brignone is now on her 28th World Cup victory, and earned her 13th win in the giant slalom. The giant slalom is one of her primary ski disciplines, alongside the super-G. Additionally, Brignone has won three Olympic medals as a result of her impressive athletic ability.

She told a media source, "I'm a bit crazy, but this is why I like it. I'm still around because I have fun also."

"That was for sure not what I was expecting," Brignone stated. "This is incredible, for sure, Sӧlden is one month before all the rest of the season for me, so I will have to work hard, still. This is an amazing start of the season."

The Alpine Ski World Cup events will continue on through the winter, concluding on March 27, 2025. After the men's race on Sunday, October 27, the women will have a slalom competition on November 16 in Levi, located in Finland. This is a monumental event for World Cup Levi as it will mark its 20th anniversary.

To watch the exciting events, visit the Ski and Snowboard Live website, or tune into Peacock.