Italian skier Brignone wins World Cup GS, gets 1st victory for her team in Austrian event since 2002

SEMMERING, Austria (AP) — Federica Brignone held on to her opening-run lead at a women’s World Cup giant slalom on Saturday, becoming the first Italian winner of the Semmering event in 22 years.

Brignone could even afford a mistake near the end of her second run as she defeated Olympic GS champion Sara Hector by 0.57 seconds.

Alice Robinson of New Zealand was nine-tenths of a second off the pace in third.

“It was not easy the second run, but the slope was amazing," said Brignone, who earned her 14th career win in GS but had not been on the podium here before. "I really wanted it, I’m so happy. It’s been a tough race but I felt really good, I wanted to fight and I was not too stressed.”

In the absence of the injured Mikaela Shiffrin, Paula Moltzan was the leading American racer, trailing Brignone by 1.11 in fifth, matching her best result in giant slalom.

Lindsey Vonn, who made her return to World Cup racing in Switzerland last week, only competes in the speed events of downhill and super-G.

No Italian skier had won the race near the Austrian capital of Vienna since Karen Putzer triumphed in 2002. The race in Semmering is held every two years.

At 34 years and five months, Brignone improved the record she already held as the oldest race winner in women’s World Cup history.

“I would like to beat my record once again, maybe in the season,” the Italian skier said. “I’ve made a Christmas and New Year’s present, amazing!”

Earlier Saturday, Brignone mastered a tricky passage near the end of the Zauberberg course where Italian coach Giorgio Pavoni had set the gates for the first run.

“It’s good, rhythmic and with a lot of turns,” said Brignone, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist and 2011 world champion in the discipline.

Defending overall champion Lara Gut-Behrami, second after the opening run, was slowed in the second when she hooked a gate with her left arm halfway down the course and the Swiss racer dropped to ninth position.

Brignone has won four of the last five giant slaloms and went top of the discipline standings this season, overtaking Hector.

Shiffrin will also miss Sunday's slalom on the same hill. There’s no timetable for her return to racing after the U.S. star underwent abdominal surgery to clean out a deep wound she received in a GS crash on Nov. 30 in Killington, Vermont.

Shiffrin has won the GS in Semmering four times, including both races in 2022 when the event featured an additional GS to make up for a cancelation earlier that season.

She is the record holder for the most World Cup wins – both in giant slalom (22) and overall (99).

Also missing was Petra Vlhova, the former overall champion from Slovakia who won the race in 2020, after she suffered a setback in her recovery from knee surgery.

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

Switzerland's Lara Gut Behrami speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom race in Semmering, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Lara Gut Behrami speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup Gian slalom race, in Semmering, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

New Zealand's Alice Robinson speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup Gian slalom race, in Semmering, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

Sweden's Sara Hector speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup Gian slalom race, in Semmering, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Piermarco Tacca)

Italy's Federica Brignone speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom race in Semmering, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Federica Brignone speeds down the course during an alpine ski, women's World Cup giant slalom race in Semmering, Austria, Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Italy's Federica Brignone competes in an alpine ski, women's World Cup super G, in St. Moritz, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people.

The Kremlin said in a statement that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, due to a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land on Wednesday. It stopped short of saying the plane was shot down by Russian air defenses.

According to a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.”

The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to Grozny, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors.

On Friday, a U.S. official and an Azerbaijani minister made separate statements blaming the crash on an external weapon.

Friday’s assessments by Rashan Nabiyev and White House national security spokesman John Kirby echoed those made by outside aviation experts who blamed the crash on Russian air defense systems responding to a Ukrainian attack. Neither Kirby or the Azerbaijani minister directly addressed the statements blaming air defenses.

Kirby told reporters on Friday that the U.S. “have seen some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems,” but refused to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.

Nabiyev, Azerbaijan’s minister of digital development and transportation, told Azerbaijani media that “preliminary conclusions by experts point at external impact,” as does witness testimony.

Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media that they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.

Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia, said Friday that as the plane was preparing to land in Grozny in deep fog, Ukrainian drones were targeting the city, prompting authorities to close the area to air traffic.

Yadrov said that after the captain made two unsuccessful attempts to land, he was offered other airports but decided to fly to Aktau in Kazakhstan, across the Caspian Sea.

He didn’t comment on statements from some aviation experts, who pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems.

Earlier this week, Rosaviatsia cited unspecified early evidence as showing that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.

In the days following the crash, Azerbaijan Airlines blamed “physical and technical interference” and announced the suspension of flights to several Russian airports. It didn’t say where the interference came from or provide any further details.

In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)