Sara Hector’s Olympic gold medal is a lesson in perseverance

The women’s giant slalom at the 2022 Winter Olympics was filled with plenty of disappointment. A missed gate ended Mikaela Shiffrin‘s Olympic title defense. Nina O’Brien had a scary crash across the finish line after a promising first run. All told, 31 of 82 skiers failed to finish either run one or two.

But the race concluded with a big dose of inspiration thanks to Swedish skier Sara Hector.

Hector, the fastest skier in run one, managed to hold on for gold by 0.28 seconds – her first Olympic medal in her third appearance at the Winter Games. She is the first Swedish woman to win Olympic giant slalom gold since Pernilla Wiberg won the event in 1992.

Italy’s Federica Brignone won silver while Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami earned bronze.

“I’m so proud that I could hold it together for two runs,” Hector said.

A GOLDEN RUN FOR SARA HECTOR!