Swiss racer speeds to gold

LIVE: Let’s go! Who will win gold in the downhill?

Daniel Hemetsberger (left) and Vincent Kriechmayr missed out on the medals.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Austria's men came away empty-handed at the Olympic downhill in Bormio on Saturday. Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen took gold. Behind him, Italy's Giovanni Franzoni (+0.20 seconds) and Dominik Paris (+0.50) finished second and third.

Swiss superstar Marco Odermatt (+0.70) finished fourth, missing out on a medal in the premier discipline. Vincent Kriechmayr (+0.77) was the best Austrian, finishing sixth. Daniel Hemetsberger (+0.97) finished just behind him.

Franjo von Allmen(Bild: GEPA)

ÖOC veterans merely led the chasing pack
Hemetsberger had suffered a major crash in Thursday's training session, but ventured back onto the course in Friday's final session and ultimately finished less than a second behind the winner, despite having a slightly swollen eye. "You have to be realistic after what happened before," said the 34-year-old. "I'm very satisfied for myself. I gave it my all, I was really at my limit. My leg didn't hurt. At home, I'll see that it was worth much more. I had my Olympic moment."

Kriechmayr was doing well in the upper section, but lost time in the middle section. "I had planned to do things differently," said the Upper Austrian in an interview with ORF. "I went too deep in the traverse. Then you lack speed in the middle section, and I lost six tenths in that part. At the bottom, it pushed me in a little bit. It's a shame, I definitely planned it differently, but in the end it wasn't enough." The 34-year-old thus remains without an Olympic medal. He finished seventh and eighth in the downhill in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

Here is a video assessment of the race by "Kaiser" Franz Klammer:

Here are the final results:

His two remaining compatriots in the four-man ÖOC team, with start numbers beyond 20, did not make it into the top ten. Raphael Haaser from Tyrol finished 15th, 1.89 seconds behind, while Stefan Babinsky from Styria finished 26th, 3.12 seconds behind. Nils Alegre was the best of the French team, which has won five Olympic men's downhill events, finishing eighth (+1.19). Odermatt was deeply disappointed: "I knew that if someone had a perfect run, it would be difficult to win. But I was expecting a medal."

Fifth Swiss downhill gold
Rising star Franzoni, on the other hand, narrowly missed out on the big coup. "It's great," said the local hero, clearly very satisfied. "I was pretty calm, just a little nervous shortly before the start." He then enjoyed his run. "It's great to share the podium with Franjo and Dominik. Winning in Kitzbühel this season and getting a medal here is incredible." For six-time Bormio winner Paris, bronze "means a lot. The run was good, with a few minor mistakes in the lower section. I gave it my all."

Kitzbühel winner Franzoni, Odermatt, and Von Allmen, who remained victorious in Wengen and at the Olympic dress rehearsal last Sunday in Crans-Montana, shared the successes in the six World Cup downhill races so far this season. At the highlight of the winter, Von Allmen was the best, as he was last year at the World Championships in Saalbach. It is Switzerland's fifth Olympic victory in the men's downhill and the second in a row after Beat Feuz's triumph in Beijing. The Austrians lead the rankings with seven titles, the last one won by Matthias Mayer in 2014.