Quick Read
- Alice Robinson finished eighth in the Women’s Super-Giant Slalom at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
- The 24-year-old New Zealander completed her run in 1 minute and 24.44 seconds on the challenging Olympia delle Tofane course.
- Italy’s Federica Brignone won gold, with France’s Romane Miradoli taking silver and Austria’s Cornelia Huetter bronze.
- 17 of 43 competitors, including several favorites, failed to finish the race due to difficult conditions.
- Robinson will next compete in the women’s alpine skiing Giant Slalom on Sunday, February 15.
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO (Azat TV) – New Zealand’s veteran alpine ski racer Alice Robinson, 24, secured an eighth-place finish in the women’s Super-Giant Slalom (Super-G) at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Thursday. While a medal eluded her, the result marks a solid start to her third Olympic campaign, building on a season of consistent top performances on a demanding Olympia delle Tofane course that saw many top contenders fail to finish.
Robinson, who entered the Games in top form, completed her run in 1 minute and 24.44 seconds, placing her eighth alongside France’s Camille Cerutti. The race for gold was fiercely contested, with Italy’s Federica Brignone claiming the top spot with a time of 1 minute and 23.41 seconds, marking an astonishing comeback from a career-threatening injury. France’s Romane Miradoli took silver, and Austria’s Cornelia Huetter earned the bronze medal.
Robinson Navigates Challenging Olympic Super-G Course
The Super-G event, held at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, presented significant challenges for the 43 starters. The 2105-meter Olympia delle Tofane course, renowned for its steep and rolling terrain, was further complicated by mist and fog, making visibility and snow conditions difficult. These conditions proved unforgiving, as 17 competitors, including pre-race favorites like Germany’s Emma Aicher and Italy’s World Cup Super-G leader Sofia Goggia, failed to complete their runs.
Starting with bib 14, Robinson began her run powerfully, demonstrating control through the initial sections. However, a small line error mid-course proved costly, impacting her final time. Despite this, her ability to finish the challenging course, amidst such a high rate of non-finishes, underscores her skill and determination. Robinson herself acknowledged the difficulty, stating, “It was really challenging. It was an awesome course set, it was technical and had really good turns in it. In inspection it looked amazing but I think the snow changed quite a lot from the inspection to the race and got a lot softer and it was really hard to create energy and to push.”
A Season of Strong Momentum for the New Zealander
Robinson’s eighth-place finish at the Olympics comes after a season demonstrating her peak performance. The New Zealander secured her first career win in the opening event of the season in St Moritz and followed it with a second-place finish a week later in Val d’Isère, both in Super-G. These results had positioned her as a significant contender for the Olympic podium, reflecting her aggressive and confident approach on the slopes.
This is Robinson’s third appearance at the Winter Olympics, having made her debut at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games in South Korea at the age of 16, becoming New Zealand’s youngest-ever Winter Olympian. Her experience and consistent form this season have been notable, culminating in this strong opening performance in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Focus Shifts to Giant Slalom for Robinson
With the Super-G behind her, Robinson now shifts her focus to the women’s alpine skiing Giant Slalom, run 1, scheduled for Sunday, February 15. The Giant Slalom is another discipline where she has historically excelled and will offer another opportunity for a medal. Robinson expressed her admiration for Brignone’s Super-G victory, noting the Italian’s strong form and predicting she “is going to be pretty hot there too” in the Giant Slalom.
New Zealand has already secured two medals at the Milano Cortina Games. Zoi Sadowski-Synnott earned a silver medal in the women’s snowboarding Big Air, her record third Olympic medal in the event. Additionally, Luca Harrington brought home a bronze medal in the men’s Freeski Slopestyle.
Alice Robinson’s eighth-place finish in a highly competitive and technically demanding Olympic Super-G, characterized by difficult conditions and a high DNF rate among top athletes, signifies a robust start to her third Games, validating her consistent performance throughout the current season and setting a positive trajectory for her upcoming Giant Slalom event.