Swiss skier Franz von Allmann wins first gold medal of the Milano Cortina Games

The first gold medal of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Games was awarded to Franz von Allmann in the men’s downhill race on Saturday.

On a perfect day in Bormio, Swiss racer Franz von Allmann completed the challenging course in 1 minute, 51.61 seconds.

Her time was good enough to hold off the challenge of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni, who finished 0.2 seconds behind von Allmen and won the silver medal. Franzoni’s teammate Dominique Paris ran faster and won the bronze medal, knocking Team Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt off the podium.

The highest-ranked American in the men’s downhill was Kyle Negomir, who finished 10th.

“My goal was to put something down where I could stand at the end and say I have no regrets,” Negomir said.

Sweden leads 1-2 in women’s skiathlon

Team Sweden produced a dominant performance in the women’s 10km + 10km skiathlon, winning gold and silver at the Tessero cross-country skiing stadium in Val di Fiemme, Italy, on Saturday.

Frieda Carlsson reached the top of the podium and completed the 20-kilometre course (a little over 12 miles) in 53 minutes, 45.2 seconds.

Her teammate, two-time world champion Ebba Andersson, crossed the finish line 51 seconds later. Heidi Weng of Norway won the bronze medal.

A Swedish or Norwegian woman has won a skiathlon gold medal in the last five Winter Olympics.

An early fall from Team USA’s Jessie Diggins took the American star out of medal contention. She finished eighth, 2 minutes, 21.1 seconds behind Carlson.

Diggins said the setback hasn’t diminished his confidence.

“I have so much love and so much support from so many amazing people at home,” Diggins said. “And I really wanted to bring them joy, so I just went out there and sang my heart out, and that’s what I did today.” I’m really proud of that.”

While the result ended Diggins’ medal hopes in the opening race of the Olympic cross-country event, she said her performance also offered reassurance.

“Oh, there are still many races left,” Diggins said. “I was really proud of this skate half. I’m really encouraged by the condition my body is in. A lot of things have to come together to have a good race.”