Joan Verdú Secures Andorra's Best Olympic Giant Slalom Finish in 4 Years with 10th Place

Joan Verdú delivered Andorra's best Olympic giant slalom finish in four years, placing 10th at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Games in Bormio with a combined time of 2:27.29.

Starting the day in 19th after a first-run time of 1:16.69 with bib 23 out of 81 starters, Verdú trailed leader Lucas Pinheiro Braathen of Brazil by 2.77 seconds. Pinheiro Braathen set the pace at 1:13.92 in ideal early conditions on a course that hardened and iced later. Verdú adopted a measured approach, conceding 1.01 seconds in the opening sector, then 0.98, 0.47, and 0.31 in the remaining splits—leaving him just 0.76 seconds off the top-eight Olympic diploma positions in a tight midfield.

Facing worsening snow and falling visibility in the second run, which started at 13:30, Verdú unleashed the day's fastest time of 1:10.60. The effort propelled him up nine spots. He briefly led the overall standings before Marco Schwarz displaced him by a single centesimal. Later challengers including Stefan Brennsteiner, Henrik Kristoffersen, Leo Anguenot, and Thomas Tumler overtook in the combined rankings, with Loïc Meillard securing bronze ahead of them. Pinheiro Braathen sealed gold at 2:25.00, ahead of Marco Odermatt's silver in 2:25.58.

Verdú ended 0.06 seconds shy of eighth-place Brennsteiner (2:27.23) and a mere 0.01 behind ninth-placed Schwarz—edging agonizingly close to matching his ninth from Beijing 2022, where he clocked the third-quickest second run.

Ahead of the race, the Andorran had trained intensively in Austria to sharpen details on a track akin to Bormio's long layout, featuring a steep initial wall and extended flat. "The sensations are good; these last weeks we've trained hard to polish the details and arrive prepared," he said. "Expectations are to give absolutely everything—I have little to lose and much to gain, with huge excitement and pride in the work done to reach this event in good shape."

The result stands as Verdú's season-best, topping his prior 12th in the Sölden World Cup, and reinforces his position as Andorra's premier alpine skier across four Olympic appearances.