BEIJING — Swedish skier Sara Hector capped a recent career resurgence in the best way possible, winning the gold medal in the women’s giant slalom at the Beijing Olympics on Monday for her first individual victory at a major championship.
The 29-year-old Hector finished two runs down a course known as The Ice River at the Yanqing Alpine Skiing Center in an unofficial combined time of 1 minute, 55.69 seconds. She was quickest down the hill in the first run, and an eighth-fastest second leg was enough for her to hold on.
Federica Brignone of Italy was 0.28 seconds slower over the two legs to add a silver medal to the bronze she won in the GS at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games behind champion Mikaela Shiffrin, who fell during Monday’s opening run hours earlier and was eliminated.
Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland was third, 0.72 behind Hector, and she now has another bronze to go alongside the…
