The first gold medal of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games was awarded on Saturday at the men's downhill race.
On a picture-perfect day in Bormio, Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen powered through the challenging course in 1 minute, 51.61 seconds.
Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen speeds down the course during the men's downhill race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Bormio, Italy.
Gabriele Facciotti / AP
His time was good enough to withstand the challenge of Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who finished 0.2 of a second behind von Allmen to take the silver medal. Franzoni's teammate, Dominik Paris, had a fast run to take bronze and knock Marco Odermatt of Team Switzerland off the podium.
The highest-ranked American in the men's downhill was Kyle Negomir, who finished 10th.
Sweden goes 1-2 in women's skiathlon
Team Sweden has a strong showing at the women's 10km+10km skiathlon, taking gold and silver on Saturday at Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme, Italy.
Frida Karlsson powered to the top of the podium, covering the 20-kilometer course (just a little more than 12 miles) in 53 minutes, 45.2 seconds.
Frida Karlsson of Team Sweden celebrates as she crosses the finish line to win Gold in the Women's 10km + 10km Skiathlon at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
Maddie Meyer / Getty Images
Her teammate, two-time reigning world champ Ebba Andersson, crossed the finish line 51 seconds later. Heidi Weng, of Norway, took bronze.
Either a Swedish or Norwegian woman has won the skiathlon gold medal in the last five Winter Olympics.
Jessie Diggins of Team USA finished eighth, more than three minutes behind Karlsson.
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