Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen delivered an outstanding run to win gold in the men’s downhill at the Winter Olympics on Saturday, while team-mate and favourite Marco Odermatt finished off the podium.
The 24-year-old skied a near-perfect race on the Stelvio course, crossing the line in 1:51.61. His time was 0.70 seconds faster than Odermatt’s earlier mark.
Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni gave the home fans something to cheer as he took silver in front of around 7,000 spectators, finishing 0.20 seconds behind the winner. Veteran Italian Dominik Paris claimed bronze, 0.50 seconds back. Paris has won six downhill races on the Stelvio in the past.
Odermatt, who has dominated men’s alpine skiing in recent years and was expected to win gold, had to settle for fourth place. The 28-year-old had been aiming to add downhill gold to the giant slalom title he won at the 2022 Games.
“I felt good on the snow and I thought I had a solid run,” Odermatt said afterwards. “I’m not sure what I would change. It just wasn’t fast enough.”
