02/07/26 09:42:00
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02/07 09:40 CST Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland wins men's downhill, first
gold medal of Milan Cortina Games
Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland wins men's downhill, first gold medal of Milan
Cortina Games
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
BORMIO, Italy (AP) --- Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen brought home the first
gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games by winning the downhill on Saturday. It's
his first Olympic crown in his very first Olympic race.
Not so long ago, it wasn't clear if there would be anymore "firsts" for him in
ski racing. As a teenager, and after the death of his father, von Allmen didn't
have the money for racing --- until a crowdfunding project helped out.
Now, the 24-year-old is king of the downhill.
On a picture-perfect day in Bormio, von Allmen powered through the challenging
Stelvio course in 1 minute, 51.61 seconds to keep the Olympic downhill title in
the Swiss family. His time was good enough to withstand the charge of Italy's
Giovanni Franzoni, who finished .20 seconds back to claim the silver medal.
Franzoni's teammate, the 36-year-old Dominik Paris, had a fast run to take
bronze and knock Marco Odermatt of Switzerland off the podium.
"I had fun with the skiing today," von Allmen said.
His skiing career was almost derailed at 17. Through crowdfunding he raised
money and qualified for the national C team. He showed his vast promise by
winning three silver medals, including one in downhill, at the 2022 junior
worlds in Canada.
That particular time, however, was not something he wanted to revisit after the
race.
"For me that chapter is closed," he said through a translator. "I prefer to
concentrate on what's yet to come and what's happening now."
Aksel Lund Svindal, the 2018 Olympic downhill champion from Norway, considered
von Allmen a favorite. Svindal was impressed with the young racer's performance
during a downhill win in Switzerland leading into the Games.
"It's the skiing of someone that's really in form so I'm not surprised,"
Svindal said from Cortina, where he's coaching Lindsey Vonn. "Very good skiing,
obviously."
The Swiss skier sometimes goes under the radar of his compatriot Odermatt,
who's won four straight overall World Cup titles. They're fast friends and
friendly rivals. They share course information but hold a little back, too.
Turns out, von Allmen had the better inside track on the demanding hill.
"I had a good feeling," Odermatt said. "But it was just not fast enough."
This has been quite a run for von Allmen, who won the downhill at the world
championships in Austria last winter. He's using the same ski technician that
Swiss racer Beat Feuz relied on to win the downhill at the 2022 Beijing Games
before retiring.
"It feels like a movie," von Allmen said. "How could you imagine the Olympics
better than to start with a gold medal? Amazing. It's difficult to describe it
in words."
Home favorites
The stands were packed with flag-waving fans. Some of the biggest cheers were
reserved for Italy's Franzoni and Paris, who went back-to-back.
This is a breakout season for the 24-year-old Franzoni, who's from Manerba del
Garda, located about 200 kilometers south of Bormio. More specifically, it's
been a breakout 22 or so days. He won a World Cup super-G in Wengen,
Switzerland, on Jan. 16 and followed that up with a downhill victory in
Kitzbhel, Austria, the following week.
To share a podium with Paris, well, that's something Franzoni voiced into
reality. He mentioned to Paris in December how nice being podium on the same
podium would be --- the veteran and the mentor. It just so happened to be at
the Olympics.
"I don't know if he'll continue racing next year but this is the biggest stage
to share," Franzoni said. "He gives me a lot of tips during this season. He's
such a strong guy, a legend, and it's an honor for me to be on this team."
Paris knows this course well, having won seven World Cup races at the venue.
Shortly after receiving his medal, he glanced up at the hill.
"It's a beautiful, tough mountain," said Paris, who hails from Val d'Ultimo.
It was Paris' first Olympic medal in his fifth Winter Games. He now becomes a
bronze medalist in addition to being the vocalist of a heavy metal band called
"Rise of Voltage."
"I'm, for sure, a better skier," Paris cracked. "But if you listen to metal,
I'm not so bad."
The 27th racer to take the course, Kyle Negomir found a fast line and vaulted
into 10th place for the top American finish.
"My goal was to put down something where I could stand in the finish and say I
didn't have any regrets," Negomir said.
___
AP Sports Writers Andrew Dampf in Cortina and James Ellingworth in Milan
contributed.
___
AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing and AP Olympics:
https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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