Switzerland claims opening gold home speed skater

Swiss alpine skier Franjo von Allmen won the first gold medal of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in the men’s downhill on Saturday, while Italian veteran Francesca Lollobrigida set a new Olympic record in the women’s 3,000m speed skating event to claim her first Olympic gold. On the daunting Stelvio course, Von Allmen posted a winning time of one minute and 51.61 seconds, withstanding challenges from Italian skiers Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris, who placed second and third, respectively. All three claimed their first Olympic medals.

“Feels kind of like a movie, not really real,” said the Swiss skier. “I will get it a few days after the Olympics are over. For now, can you imagine doing better at the Olympics?” Paris, a five-time Olympian, said the result carried special meaning on a slope where he has enjoyed sustained World Cup wins.

“I’ve had a nice career so far. Having this success on this hill means a lot,” he noted. Men’s downhill is considered one of the signature events of the Winter Olympics, featuring the longest course in alpine skiing, the largest vertical drop and the highest speeds.

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Saturday’s race covered 3,442 meters, with a vertical drop of 1,023 meters from start to finish. Only 36 skiers took part, the lowest number since the men’s downhill became a standalone Olympic event in 1948. Several athletes withdrew following official training runs.

On the ice rink, Lollobrigida delighted the home crowd by breaking the women’s 3,000m speed skating Olympic record. The four-time Olympian celebrated her 35th birthday by securing Italy’s first gold of the Games with a time of three minutes and 54.28 seconds, 2.65 seconds faster than the previous record set by Irene Schouten of the Netherlands in Beijing four years ago. “It’s incredible, because we are in Italy.

The Olympics are in Italy. This is the dream of my dreams,” said Lollobrigida. Ragne Wiklund of Norway took silver in 3:56.54, while Canada’s Valerie Maltais claimed bronze with a time of 3:56.93.

In a fiercely contested men’s snowboard big air final defined by soaring difficulty, defending champion Su Yiming earned China its first medal of the Games with a bronze. Su triumphed at Beijing 2022 with a pair of 1800s, but this time, eight riders had already landed 1980s in qualification alone.

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