BORMEO, Italy – Swiss racer Franz von Allmann won the downhill on Saturday for his first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games. This is his first Olympic crown in his first Olympic race.
Not so long ago, it was unclear whether there would be a “first” for him now in ski racing. As a teenager, and after his father’s death, von Allmen had no money to go racing – until help from a crowdfunding project.
Now, the 24-year-old is the king of the slopes.
On a perfect day in Bormio, von Allmen completed 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 hold off the onslaught of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni, who won the silver medal by finishing .20 seconds back. Franzoni’s teammate, 36-year-old Dominic Paris, raced quickly to win the bronze medal, knocking Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt off the podium.
“I enjoyed skiing today,” von Allmen said.
His skiing career was almost derailed at the age of 17. Through crowdfunding he raised money and qualified for the national C team. She showed her huge promise by winning three silver medals, including one in downhill, at the 2022 Junior Worlds in Canada.
However, that particular time was not something he wanted to see again after the race.
“That chapter is closed for me,” he said through a translator. “I prefer to focus on what is yet to come and what is happening now.”
Norway’s 2018 Olympic downhill champion Axel Lund Svindal considered von Allmen the favourite. Swindal was impressed by the young racer’s performance during a slow victory before the Games in Switzerland.
“This is skiing from someone who is really in form so I’m not surprised,” Swindle said from Cortina, where he is coaching Lindsey Vonn. “Pretty good skiing, obviously.”
The Swiss skier sometimes flies under the radar of his compatriot Odermatt, who has won four consecutive overall World Cup titles. They are close friends and friendly rivals. They share curriculum information but also hold back a little. Turns out, Von Allman’s inside track was better on the demanding hill.
“I felt good,” Odermatt said. “But it wasn’t fast enough.”
It’s been a tough run for von Allmen, who won the downhill at the world championships in Austria last winter. He is using the same ski technician that Swiss racer Beat Fusz relied on to win the downhill at the 2022 Beijing Games before retiring.
“It feels like a movie,” von Allmen said. “How can you imagine a better Olympics than starting with a gold medal? Amazing. It’s hard to put into words.”
home favorite
The stands were filled with fans waving flags. Some of the biggest enthusiasm was reserved for Italy’s Franzoni and Paris, who went one after the other.
This is a breakout season for 24-year-old Franzoni, who hails from Manerba del Garda, about 200 kilometers south of Bormio. More specifically, it has been a breakout for about 22 days. He won the World Cup Super-G in Wengen, Switzerland on January 16 and followed that up with a hard-fought victory in Kitzbühel, Austria the following week.
To share a stage with Paris, this is something that Franzoni has expressed in reality. He had mentioned in Paris in December how great it would be to have the veteran and the guru on the same stage. The same thing happened in the Olympics.
“I don’t know if he’ll continue racing next year, but this is the greatest stage to share,” Franzoni said. “He gives me a lot of tips during this season. He’s a strong guy, a legend and it’s an honor to be on this team.”
Paris knows this course well, having won seven World Cup races at this venue. Immediately after receiving his medal, he looked up the hill.
“It’s a beautiful, difficult mountain,” said Paris, who is from Val d’Ultimo.
It was the first Olympic medal at the fifth Winter Games in Paris. He has now become a bronze medalist besides being the singer of a heavy metal band called “Rise of Voltage”.
“I’m definitely a better skier,” Paris said. “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 moved up to 10th for the top American finish.
“My goal was to put something down where I could stand at the end and say I have no regrets,” Negomir said.
