BORMIO, Italy – The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics began Saturday with a stunning victory for Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen in the men’s downhill race. Von Allmen conquered the challenging course at Stelvio Ski Centre in a time of 1 minute, 51.61 seconds, securing the first gold medal of the Games.
The win wasn’t without a strong challenge from the host nation. Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni claimed the silver medal, finishing just 0.2 seconds behind von Allmen. Franzoni’s teammate, Dominik Paris, completed the podium, earning the bronze and pushing Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt out of medal contention.
For the United States, Kyle Negomir posted the best result, finishing 10th. “My goal was to put down something where I could stand in the finish and say I didn’t have any regrets,” Negomir said after the race. Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished 18th, while Bryce Bennett placed 13th and Sam Morse finished 19th.
Saturday also saw success for Team Sweden in the women’s 10km+10km skiathlon at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Frida Karlsson dominated the event, completing the 20-kilometer course in 53 minutes, 45.2 seconds to take gold.
The Swedish team continued its strong performance with Ebba Andersson securing the silver medal, finishing 51 seconds behind Karlsson. Norway’s Heidi Weng rounded out the podium with a bronze medal.
The skiathlon result continues a trend of dominance for Swedish and Norwegian women in the event, with either a competitor from one of those nations winning gold in the last five Winter Olympics.
The day wasn’t without disappointment for Team USA’s Jessie Diggins, who suffered an early fall and finished eighth, 2 minutes, 21.1 seconds behind Karlsson. Despite the setback, Diggins remained optimistic. “I’ve had so much love and so much support from so many amazing people back home,” she said. “And I just really wanted to bring them joy and just go out there and race my heart out and that’s what I did today. I’m really proud of that.”
Diggins added that she felt encouraged by her performance and looked forward to the remaining races. “Oh, there’s so many races to go,” she said. “I was really proud of this skate half. I’m really encouraged by where my body is at. There’s so many variables that need to come together to have a good race.”
