Italy_Alpine_Skiing_Worlds_12707

Gold medalist Lara Gut-Behrami, left, embraces silver medalist Mikaela Shiffrin after the women’s giant slalom Thursday at the World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. Marco Tacca/Associated Press

SKIING

After going her entire career without a major championship title, Lara Gut-Behrami added a second gold medal to her burgeoning collection from this year’s skiing world championships.

Mikaela Shiffrin, meanwhile, earned a silver medal to give her one of each color – and with her best event still to come.

Gut-Behrami edged Shiffrin for gold in the giant slalom on Thursday in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, making up a deficit on the first-run leader with a blistering final leg to beat the American by two-hundredths of a second. After Shiffrin had completed her run, Gut-Behrami hugged the American and stormed through the finish area to celebrate with her coaches.

Katharina Liensberger of Austria was 0.09 behind in third in what was the closest finish ever of a women’s giant slalom at the worlds. American skier Nina O’Brien was 0.02 behind in second after the opening run but dropped to 10th after a costly mistake shortly before finishing her final run.

Shiffrin extended her American record with her 10th career medal at worlds. She won the combined event on Monday and took bronze in the super-G a week ago.

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Shiffrin dropped 0.14 seconds behind Gut-Behrami halfway through her final run but made up time in the flat final section. Settling for silver, she said she was still “happy.”

“The first thing I saw was the red, but I felt good with my skiing. I was pushing. It was not a perfect run, but it was aggressive,” said Shiffrin, who has now won 10 medals from 12 events at the worlds since her debut in 2013.

GOLF

PGA: Sam Burns opened with an 18-foot eagle putt and closed with three straight birdies in the Genesis Invitational, giving him a 7-under 64 and a two-stroke lead over Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa.

The 24-year-old Burns is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory. On one of the best courses of the year, against another stacked field, it was a good first step.

“This golf course at times doesn’t offer you a lot of opportunities,” Burns said. “So I think just with that mindset going in we were just going to take what we could get.”

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Patrick Cantlay, coming off chances to win in his last two events, extended his run of good play with four birdies on his back nine and was in a large group at 67.

SOCCER

SHEBELIEVES CUP: Rose Lavelle scored in the 79th minute to give the United States a 1-0 victory over Canada in Orlando, Florida.

The U.S. extended its winning streak to 35 matches overall and 51 on American soil.

Brazil defeated Argentina 4-1 in the tournament’s opening match.

TENNIS

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POSTPONED: The finals of the Billie Jean King Cup, formerly the Fed Cup, were postponed for a second time on Thursday.

The International Tennis Federation said the 12-nation tournament cannot take place as scheduled as an indoor event from April 13-18 in Budapest, Hungary.

Citing “continued uncertainty and the challenges due to the COVID-19 virus, locally and internationally,” the ITF said it would be rescheduled later in the year. A venue was not confirmed.

The tournament was originally scheduled in April 2020, then postponed when the pandemic was declared.


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