Gina del Rio Hits 35th in 10km Skate, Andorra's Best Women's Olympic Finish

Andorran cross-country skier Gina del Rio wrapped up her Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics debut with a 35th-place finish in the women's 10km individual skating event at Predazzo, marking her best result of the Games and Andorra's top female performance in the discipline's Olympic history.

The 22-year-old started with bib 21 at 13:10 among 111 competitors, posting a time of 25:25.9—2:36.7 behind gold medallist Frida Karlsson of Sweden (22:49.2). Karlsson's teammate Ebba Andersson took silver, with USA's Jessie Diggins earning bronze. Del Rio held 10th in early provisional standings before slipping as leaders finished, gaining pace in the final kilometres to end 15.3 seconds outside the top 30, secured by Finland's Vilma Nissinen. She stayed around 34th-35th through checkpoints on the demanding course.

This outperformed her prior results: 44th in the 20km skiathlon and 47th in the classic sprint qualifier among 89 entrants, where her 3:56.85 trailed Swedish gold medallist Linn Svahn by 20.64 seconds and USA's Lauren Jortberg’s top-30 mark by 7.62.

Pre-race, after a light over-hour skating session at Passo Lavazè, del Rio cited fatigue, cough, and neck issues but affirmed her resolve. She finished more satisfied, telling Andorra Televisió her sensations improved despite the tough effort. "I felt more comfortable on the skis, though it was a very hard race because I gave everything," she said. Her overall assessment remained bittersweet: better than earlier outings but below her season form—including top-30 World Cup 10km finishes and 12th in Davos—leaving much to learn. The Andorran Ski Federation prioritised experience over targets.

Meanwhile, alpine skier Jordina Caminal did not finish her second event, the super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo. Starting with bib 32 among 44, she showed promise early—20th provisional after losing just 0.6 seconds in the first split—before faltering post-jump reception and exiting after a right-hand turn. The race saw 17 non-finishers (39.5%), a record for Olympic super-G. Italy's Federica Brignone won gold, ahead of France's Romane Miradoli and Austria's Cornelia Hütter. After her 24th in downhill, Caminal noted good initial sensations and attacking style but rued the doubt that ended her run. "It's a shame because my expectations for myself were higher, but I take the experience and the downhill result," she said, focusing on growth.