Valerie Grenier of Ottawa, Ontario won the gold medal in a women’s World Cup giant slalom event in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on Saturday. For Grenier, it was her third World Cup medal and second World Cup gold medal.
Grenier had a winning time of 1:50.51. Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland won the silver medal with a time of 1:50.88. Federica Brignone of Italy won the bronze medal with a time of 1:51.02. Grenier reached the podium by 0.61 seconds. Petra Vlhova of Slovakia finished in fourth place with a time of 1:51.12.
In Slovenia on Saturday, Grenier had a first run time of 56.9 seconds and a second run time of 53.61 seconds. Grenier was one of only two skiers to ski under 54 seconds in the second run. The other was Katharina Liensberger of Austria, who had a time of 53.83.
Grenier is now in fourth place in the World Cup women’s giant slalom standings with 303 points. She is behind Brignone (460 points), Gut-Behrami (445 points), and Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States (349 points).
Grenier’s first World Cup victory came on January 7, 2023 in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. Her second World Cup podium came on March 19, 2023 when she won the bronze medal in Grandvalira Soldeu-El Tarter, Andorra. The gold medal for Grenier will give her confidence as she prepares for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.