By PAT GRAHAM
BORMIO, Italy — Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen clinched the first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Games, triumphing in the downhill event on Saturday. This victory marks his inaugural Olympic medal in his debut appearance at the Games.
Just a few years ago, the prospect of von Allmen achieving such milestones was uncertain. Following the loss of his father during his teenage years, financial constraints threatened to derail his ski racing aspirations until a crowdfunding initiative provided the necessary support.
Now at 24, von Allmen reigns supreme in the downhill discipline.
Under perfect conditions in Bormio, von Allmen conquered the demanding Stelvio course with a time of 1 minute, 51.61 seconds, securing the Olympic downhill title for Switzerland once more. His impressive performance edged out Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni, who finished just 0.20 seconds behind to earn the silver medal. Dominik Paris, Franzoni’s 36-year-old teammate, delivered a strong run to capture bronze, pushing Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt off the podium.
“I enjoyed the skiing today,” von Allmen remarked.
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.
“It’s really (crap), to be fourth in the Olympics,” Odermatt said through a translation. “That’s the stupidest place that you can have.”
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.”
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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 Kitzbühel, 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 to this report.
