BORMIO, Italy (AP) — Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen leads the Olympic downhill Saturday after the opening 15 racers and is on the brink of winning the first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games.
The only thing that can thwart von Allmen from his first Olympic medal is a surprise finish from one of the remaining lower-ranked ski racers still to take the Stelvio course. There are 36 racers scheduled to compete on a picture-perfect day in Bormio.
Von Allmen powered through the challenging course in 1 minute, 51.61 seconds. His time was good enough to withstand the charge of Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who is in silver-medal position. Franzoni's teammate, Dominik Paris, had a fast run to take over third and knock Marco Odermatt of Switzerland off the podium.
Von Allmen is looking to keep the Olympic downhill title in the Swiss family. Beat Feuz won the event at 2022 Beijing Games before retiring.
The 24-year-old von Allmen sometimes flies under the radar of Odermatt, who’s won four straight overall World Cup titles. They’re fast friends and rivals. They share course information but hold a little back, too.
The stands were packed with flag-waving fans.
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing and AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
