Íria Medina Claims Podium in Italian Grand Prix Giant Slalom

**Íria Medina claims podium finish in second FIS giant slalom at Italian Grand Prix**

Andorran skier Íria Medina secured third place in the second FIS giant slalom of the Italian Grand Prix in Sestriere, Italy, finishing with a combined time of 2:10.00—just 17 hundredths of a second behind winner Melissa Astegiano of Italy (2:09.83). Switzerland's Lara Baumann took second.

Medina, who placed sixth after the first run at 0.43 seconds off the pace, delivered the third-fastest second-run time of 0:18 to climb the standings. The result earned her 25.17 FIS points, her personal best and an improvement on her previous mark of 30.09. It marks her second giant slalom podium this season, following third place at Pass Thurn in December, and her third overall including a slalom FIS win in Soldeu.

Coach Ibon Mintegui praised her tactical maturity: "She skied with great intelligence, reading the course well and knowing where she could gain time. We came very close to victory, but this is an excellent result, and the 25 points FIS are a big step forward."

The day prior, Medina had raced the first FIS giant slalom on the same course, following a rest day after two European Cup events there. Amid numerous retirements, she finished 15th in 2:10.89, 2.06 seconds behind Baumann (2:08.83). A strong first run left her provisionally 16th, 1.19 seconds back, despite a lower-wall error; her 18th second-run time of 1.31 seconds allowed a one-place gain. Mintegui noted: "She skied well in the first but made an error at the bottom of the wall. In the second, we didn't connect well or read the wall properly, but we have another race tomorrow and, as always, we're going for it."

**Andorran slalom skiers falter in European Cup opener at Crans Montana**

Meanwhile, Andorrans Bartumeu Gabriel and Xavier Cornella failed to finish the first run of the European Cup slalom opener in Crans Montana, Switzerland. Harsh conditions on a deteriorated piste—pocked with holes and irregular snow—led to 37 retirements from 100 starters.

The course, pre-treated for last week's World Cup, became unstable after subsequent snowfall despite efforts to firm it with water and salt. Gabriel (bib 62) and Cornella (bib 79) tackled a heavily rutted track. Both will get another chance in Saturday's second slalom there.