Von Allmen wins downhill, 1st gold of Milan Cortina

BORMIO, Italy — Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen captured the Olympic downhill Saturday to win the first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games.

On a picture-perfect day in Bormio, von Allmen powered through the challenging Stelvio course in 1 minute, 51.61 seconds. His time was good enough to withstand the charge of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni, who finished with 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.

Von Allmen keeps the Olympic downhill title in the Swiss family. Beat Feuz won the event at 2022 Beijing Games before retiring.

Von Allmen, 24, sometimes flies under the radar of 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 been quite a run for Von Allmen, who won the downhill at the world championships in Austria last winter.

The stands were packed with flag-waving fans. Some of the biggest cheers were reserved for Franzoni and then, the next racer to go, Paris.

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.

Paris knows this course well, having won seven World Cup races at the venue. He hails from Val d’Ultimo, which is about three hours away – or a 15-minute helicopter ride.

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.

The 27th racer to take the course, Kyle Negomir found a fast line and vaulted into 10th place for the top American finish.