Andorran Skier Íria Medina Claims Double Silver in Austrian Giant Slalom

Andorran skier Íria Medina secured second place in both FIS giant slalom events held Thursday in Hinterreit, Austria, marking a strong return to international competition after training sessions in Andorra and Reiteralm.

In the first race, Medina finished 0.53 seconds behind winner Luisa Illig of Germany, who clocked 1:51.36. Medina was just 0.07 seconds off the pace after the opening run and fourth in the second (+0.46), earning 27.81 FIS points—almost matching her prior 27.77. Fellow Andorran Franca Salhi took third, 0.80 seconds back.

Medina repeated the feat in the second giant slalom, posting 1:54.78 to trail Illig's winning time by 1.13 seconds. Fourth after the first run (+1.07), she recorded the second-fastest second run, just 0.06 seconds shy of the quickest, for 33.04 FIS points. Elina Lipp of Germany claimed third.

At Baqueira Beret, Álex Rius competed in two European Cup slaloms, starting with bib 64 both days. He placed 52nd on Tuesday—56th in the first run, 51st in the second—behind winner Hugo Desgrippes of France (1:52.21). Rius improved to 36th on Thursday with the 48th-fastest first run and further progress in the second, finishing in 2:06.10, 7.97 seconds off Italy's Tommaso Saccardi (1:58.13).

In an FIS slalom at Font-Romeu, Álvaro Calvo led Andorrans in 10th. Jan Visa (EEBE U19 team) was 14th overall and third among U18s, 4.75 seconds back, while Max Black took 22nd, Salva Cornella 23rd, and Pere Cornella 28th. Jules Michel-Mazan of France won.

Separate FIS giant slaloms took place Friday and Saturday at Font-Romeu. In the men's event Friday, Marc Fernández led Andorrans in seventh (2:31.00, 1.98 seconds behind France's Clément Talayrach at 2:29.02), earning 38.58 FIS points near his current 35.59. Álex Rius was 18th (+3.17), followed by Pere Cornella (30th), Pirmin Estruga (31st), and Carlos Salinas (41st). In the women's race, Carlota Comellas failed to qualify after the first run, while Isabella Pérez placed 50th in the opener but did not finish the second.