It's go time! German Daniela Maier streaked through the ski cross course at Milan Cortina 2026 to secure the Olympic title in women's ski cross — Germany's first Olympic freeski gold. Swiss Fanny Smith was hot on her heels, earning silver after crossing the finish line just 0.14 seconds behind Maier.
"I had a lot of fun doing the runs and now I have something really beautiful golden around my neck," Maier said.
Defending Olympic gold medalist Sandra Naeslund of Sweden was the first out of the gate in the big final but fell behind and took bronze.
"I didn't ski perfect, but I'm so happy with this medal," Naeslund said.
Frenchwoman Marielle Berger Sabbatel was the only big final competitor without a previous Olympic medal. Even with strong performances all day, she was once again denied a podium position after being unable to recover from her slower start in the big final. She finished 4th, nearly a second behind Maier.
Maier and Smith returned to the Olympics with a vengeance after finishing as co-bronze medalists at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. At those Games, Smith made contact with Maier in the big final and was "ranked as last" even though she crossed the finish line in 3rd. Maier was awarded the bronze medal and stood on the Olympic podium alongside Naeslund and Canadian Marielle Thompson. After ten months of arbitration, it was decided that a second bronze medal would be awarded so that both Maier and Smith could earn a medal.
"Silver tastes amazing. I’m quite emotional right now. It’s hard to find the words," Smith said.
In a stunning upset, Canadian two-time Olympic medalist Marielle Thompson was eliminated in the first quarterfinal heat. Teammates Hannah Schmidt and Brittany Phelan were also eliminated in the quarterfinals, marking the first time in Olympic history that Canada missed a women's ski cross podium.
Both semifinals came down to thrilling photo finishes to determine who would advance to the small and big finals. In the stacked first heat, Maier made a blistering run out the gate to take the lead, leaving the remaining athletes racing for the second big final qualification spot. Berger Sabbatel and Swiss Talina Gantenbein were neck-and-neck heading into the final jump after Gantenbein made an inside move. But it was Berger Sabbatel who edged Gantenbein to advance to the large final after their photo finish.
The small final kicked off with a tight start between Gantenbein, French Jade Grillet Aubert, Swiss Sixtine Cousin and Italian Jole Galli. Gantenbein pulled ahead by a nose and built upon her lead to finish 1st in the small final and 5th overall. Galli attempted to make an inside pass but crashed. She did not finish the race.
"I’m a bit angry, I was definitely aiming for something more, but I gave it my all," Galli said.
No Americans competed in this event.
Women's Ski Cross Medalists
🥇Daniela Maier (GER)
🥈Fanny Smith (SUI)
🥉Sandra Naeslund (SWE)