Winter Olympics Milan Cortina: the Swiss Van Allmen beats the Italian for just twenty cents. Giovanni happy: “I listened to music to relax”
Twenty hundredths of a second. Have you ever experienced how much they actually are? Maybe he doesn’t even know it Giovanni Franzoni who on the Stelvio di Bormio reached this much, twenty cents in fact, from gold medal won by the Swiss Van Allmen. Milano Cortina 2026 started off great for the Azzurri who took home the downhill race, the queen of all events, the silver with Giovanni Franzoni and the bronze with the eternal Dominique Paris. Two medals at once after Italy had won three in total in the entire history of the Olympics: gold with Colò in 1952, silver with Innerhofer in 2014 and bronze with Plank in 1976.
The race
The announced match was between the Swiss team and the Azzurri. Monney he was first on a track where he had never won and suffered a bit more than before Odermatt and then Von Allmen they did better. Especially the latter, winner of the last free world cup in Crans, impressed in the jump by flying up to 53 meters and closing the race with an advantage of 70 cents over Odermatt. Then it was the turn of the Azzurri: Franzoni skis well and is ahead of the Swiss until the second intermediate stage, then after Carcentina he chooses a lower line and loses those few hundredths which will prove decisive because in the last stretch he is no longer able to catch up on Von Allmen. Then it’s Paris’ turn, who starts with crazy determination, risks the impossible but is slightly slower than his two rivals and finishes in third place.
Giovanni’s happiness
The silver is a great joy for the Italian Giovanni Franzoni, rival but also friend of Van Allmen: “Franjo and I are the fastest people in the world on skis right now. We are the new generation of skiing and it’s nice to challenge us“. Their relationship is not just rivalry however: “I am very happy to share the podium with him, because I believe Von Allmen can inspire many generations. So it’s nice to be together on the podium.” And then he adds: “Silver won or gold lost? I came within a whisker of victory, I know, I know that on the Carcentina I could have improved it a little but this silver makes me very proud, especially because I’m with Dominik and Franjo who are the best in the world. I didn’t expect the results to come all at once, I’m very happy because I had to work to recover from an injury in the past and I didn’t expect the sudden surge. This medal is for Franzoso, my partner who is no longer with us. And then for my family.” Franzoni talks about his feelings before the start: “Before the start I felt strange, different from usual and unusual for me. Then I saw Odermatt and Von Allmen and thought it would be tough to beat them. I felt the strength of the people, and I tried to have fun in the race. The legs were stiff, I felt the tensionthen I listened to some music, relaxing, feeling the atmosphere around me. In the end I was with the fastest in the world and I thought let’s enjoy the moments. There I calmed down.” The day before was important for getting on track: “Yesterday I was talking to my family and it was important, they told me not to think too much, you’ve come very far and whatever comes is fine. I also asked Innerhofer for advice and he also told me to stay calm and not think too much about the sidelines but to enjoy the race. It was important.”
Paris’ farewell
The first Olympic medal of his career tastes very sweet for Dominique Paris and he describes the day in Bormio like this: “It’s the best moment of my career. I think it was my last Olympic opportunity of my career, especially because I was racing on this track that I love. I felt the fans in a special way, they accompanied me throughout my career. I will remember it forever. This bronze closes the circle, I did much more than I expected in my career. Today it’s worth a lot, for me but I think also for the fans who have always supported me. I think we all came close but I know I didn’t make the perfect line on the Carcentina. We fought, it was hard but that’s okay. Who would I like with me on the combined team? Mmm, now I’ll watch the slalom and decide…”.
