Feb 07, 2026
3 min read
Join our writers for all the action at Milan Cortina 2026, where the first gold medals will be won.
Takeover: After all the excitement, let's take a short break.But for the next few hours, I'll leave you in the capable hands of Billy Munday.
Winter Olympics 2026: Von Allmen wins first Olympic gold for men - outright
Milano Cortina Games: Updates on day one action
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Saturday, February 7, 2026 6:59 am
First published on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 04:27 ESTSat.February 7, 2026 at 06:59 EST
First published on Saturday 7 February 2026 04:27 ESTFranjo von Allmen wins men's downhill
The 24-year-old won the first gold medal of the Games in Selvio with a time of 1 minute 51.61 seconds.He became the fifth Swiss to win an Olympic title.
Gold: Franjo von Almen (Swiss) 1min 51.61sec
Silver: Giovanni Franzoni (Italy) +0.20s
Bronze: Dominic Paris (Italy) +0.50
Von Allmen's compatriots Marco Odermatt (+0.70) and Alexis Moni (+0.75) were fifth and sixth, while Austrian Vincent Kreichmeier (+0.77) was seventh.
'Penisgate' update: Norwegian skiers are greeted with dubious suggestions that anti-doping officials should protect their anatomy as well as their equipment after anti-doping officials used dress codes at the Milan Cortina Olympics to guard against rumors of athletes artificially enlarging their penises.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has said it will monitor evidence of manipulation after concerns that some male skiers are trying to manipulate 3D body measurement techniques used to size up the rails by temporarily enlarging their penises.Skiing's governing body also denied talk of competitors injecting paraffin or hyaluronic acid to improve aerodynamics.
For many Norwegian ski riders, the creativity of trying to add extra inches to their jumps has been met with skepticism and head shaking, with some dismissing it as a gimmick and rumour."I don't think we need that kind of attention, and on the women's side we are very cool about it," said Norwegian women's coach Christian Meyer.if someone is sick like that..."
Ski jumping athlete Anna Odinström said the controversy had a negative impact on the sport."All the interest is good, but I want it to be more than what's happening in the hills," Sindel said.
Norovirus news: Members of the Swiss women's ice hockey team have been placed in isolation after a player tested positive for norovirus, hours before they were due to play against Olympic champions Canada.
Swartzends defeated the Czech Republic in an exciting 4-3 shootout on Friday.Switzerland said that the positive test result came after the game. Carantin measures are put in place as a precaution.Canada was forced to postpone his opening game against Finland on Thursday, Some Finnish players are sick with Norovirus, the game was reckted for the February 12, according to Reuters.
Women's downhill: Lindsey Vonn completed another successful training session at the Milan Olympics in Cortina this morning after tearing the ACL in her left knee last week.The 41-year-old American crossed the line in third place, 0.37 seconds behind leader and teammate Breezy Johnson.
On Sunday, Vonn is set to run down the hill with a large brace covering her injured knee.in 2024she had a partial titanium replacement in her right knee and returned to ski racing last season after a nearly six-year retirement.She crashed in the final World Cup downhill before the Olympics.
Court mixed doubles: Bruce Moat and Jennifer Dodds strengthened their position in the mixed doubles with a sixth straight win in the round-robin stage of the tournament, which should be enough to keep them three matches into the semi-finals.
Mouat and Dodds beat Canada 7-5 this morning to maintain their perfect record in Cortina.This afternoon they face the only other unbeaten side in the competition, the American pair of Corey Theiss and Corey Dropkin.
Men's downhill: With only 11 lower-ranked competitors left to take a chance, Swiss rider Franjo von Allmen leads the way and is on track to win his first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games.On a picturesque day in Bormio.Von Allmen crossed the challenging course in 1 minute 51.61 seconds.
His time was good enough to hold off Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who was on the silver medal.Franzoni's teammate Dominic Parise sprinted to take third and knock Switzerland's Marco Odermatt off the podium.
Midhill for men: an athlete who tried to beat the days of Franzo von Allmen but no one came close and most of the big guns had already taken advantage.The winning time was 1min 51.61sec.Italy's Giovanni Franzoni and Dominic Paris were second and third.
Women's Freeski Slopestyle Qualifying: As qualifying continues, Team GB's Kirsty Muir booked her place among the 12 women competing in Monday's final with a score of 64.98, the third best of the day so far.China's Eileen Gu will also be in the finals despite a poor first run this morning which left her with a 1.26 to her credit.
Men's descending provisional ranking
Franjo von Allmen (Mahlapa) 1min 51.61 sec
Giovanni Franzoni (Italy) +0.20
Dominik Paris (İtaliya) +0.50
Men's Downhill: The top three are separated by 0.5 as competitors race one after the other down a horizontal sheet of snow at speeds of up to 90 mph.At one point, Italy's Giovanni Franzoni flew more than 50 meters into the Italian morning sky before his skis touched the ground again.This is an extraordinary, truly terrifying game.
Men's downhill: Italy's Giovanni Franzoni won the silver medal, relegating Switzerland's Moni to third place.Then Italy's Dominic Paris, the second favorite before the race, pushed Marc Oudematt away from the medals and moved into third place.
Men's Downhill: We have the Swiss stage.One of the race favourites, Marco Odermatt, beat his compatriot Monni to take the lead, but was then overtaken by Franjo von Allmen.His time was 1 minute 51.61 seconds.
Curling mixed doubles: Despite a late fightback, Jane Dodds and Bruce Maute beat Canada 7-5 in the round-robin stage of the tournament for their sixth straight win.They will face the United States later today.
Men's Downhill: Switzerland's Alexis Monni gave it his all, winning gold with a time of 1 minute 2.36 seconds, reaching 87 miles per hour as he lapped Selvio. Austria's Daniel Hmetsberger was second by 0.22 seconds and Canada's Jack Crawford was 0.64 seconds behind for the bronze medal.
Women's freestyle downhill qualifying: After eating up the snow in the early stages of the first run, China's Eileen Gu moved into second place with a score of 75.30, pushing Team GB's Katy Muir into third.
Men's landing.To the terrifying Selvio Piste, where only the brave will win their first gold medal of these games.A total of 35 men stand near the gate on the impressive south-facing slope that rewards those who push their stamina and courage.Daniel Hemmetzberger, representing Austria, was the first to go down the mountain with a time of 1 minute 52.58 seconds.
In the longest four-alpine skiing event, mountain riders race down a hill.Max Mouzaton of France cut the grass and ran down the hill, but mercilessly.
Women's ski slopestyle: At the Winter Olympics just two months after tearing her ACL, Daisy Thomas missed the Australian event after collapsing in training.She also qualified for the women's big air skip competition, which starts on February 14, and still hopes to compete.
Opening ceremony: US Vice President JD Vance was greeted by a chorus of boos when he appeared at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan on Friday, although American viewers watching NBC's coverage would not have known about the reception, writes Tom Lutz ...
Opening ceremony: Andea Varnier, the official spokesman for Milano Cortina 2026, speaks at the daily press conference. "We believe we have reached the highest number of tickets sold for an opening ceremony, with 61,221 tickets sold and another 10,000 people watching from afar," he says.
Christophe Duby, director of the IOC, explains the decision of the Games: "As elegant and beautiful as the images are, I felt how deeply Italian and universal this ceremony was," he says.“The values are universal, right?
Gallery: Scroll through the best photos from the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina...
Mixed Doubles Curling: We're in the bottom of the sixth and Team GB have extended their lead over Canada to 7-2.Jen Dodds and Bruce Moet en route to a sixth straight win, literally sweeping everything in the round robin stage of this competition.
Women's Slopestyle Freeski Qualification: The big news from Livigno Snow Park is that China's Eileen Gu, who won three medals at the last Games in Beijing, fell on the first rail of the course.Since qualifying for slopestyle comes down to the best of two runs, she has a chance to break free, but her nerves will be frayed.Among the favorites for this competition was 21-year-old Kirsty Muir from Team GB, who finished her first run with a score of 63.18, taking second place.
Mixed doubles: Team GB are currently facing Canada and have won their first five matches today, with Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds knocking out a place in the semi-finals.They lead 5-2 against Canada in the break against the United States (today), Switzerland and defending champions Italy (tomorrow).
Opening Ceremony: While the parades to kick off the Games took place in several locations, there were also political and protest demonstrations, writes Brian Armen Graham.
Women's downhill: Lindsey Vonn passed a key test of her injured knee on Friday when she completed the first downhill training run, keeping her hopes of a fourth Olympic medal alive.Skiing with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the American posted a time of 1min 40.33sec in his first official run in Cortina d'Ampezzo and answered only "yes" when asked if "all is well" by reporters.
Practice was delayed by more than an hour due to fog hanging over the Olympia delle Taffane circuit, and Vonn entertained her teammates by singing along to some Usher.The Swiss team, including reigning Olympic champion Karin Suter, will spend time playing with Yachty.
Italy's Federica Brignone was the first to complete the track in a time of 1:40.66, as she returned from two broken legs just in time for the race to win her first Olympic gold.
“Some things were good and some things were so-so,” Brignone said."I'm trying to get my leg back to normal because it's always swollen and sore after skiing. I'm also working on my confidence because I still miss it."
Curling mixed doubles: Jennifer Dodds said she and partner Bruce Mott were at their best as the pair picked up two more wins in Friday's round robin matches in the mixed doubles curling competition.The pair defeated Sweden 7-4 and South Korea 8-2, saving both games."We said yesterday there were some things we wanted to work on.""We came out today and did what we wanted to do," Dodds said.
The Team GB pair were also in a happy mood after US rapper Snoop Dogg asked for a photo."We walked by and we were like 'there's Snoop Dogg,' a little starburst and we stepped back."He said 'he wants a selfie with you' and we said 'OK'. So if Snoop Dogg's team is reading this, can we get a picture?"
Snoop Dogg, which awarded a shirt is exclude with photos of American Corey Tisii and Corey Dropkin, is the honorary coach of the team, and sat down on the ice to clean the stones.
Lizzy Yarnold: There's a lot of buzz around the Games, which are athletes' highlights, but competing with illness and injury is part of the test, writes the former Team GB skeleton star, who won gold medals at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.
The Gist: Lovingly curated, straight to your inbox and running throughout the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, sign up for our amazing guide to today's highlights and the best to come.
What to watch out for today
All times are local time in Milan and Cortina.Sydney +10, London -1, New York -6 and San Francisco -9.
Curling - 1:00 p.m.10.05 p.m.2.35 pm and 7.05 pm: Two joint timings are waiting.Great Britain and the United States - unbeaten - face off in the second round.
Freestyle skiing - 10.30am and 2pm: Men's and women's freestyle slopestyle qualifiers. Watch out for Team GB's Kirsty Muir and China's Eileen Gu from the US.
Mountain skiing - 11:30: The first gold medal of the Games is men's downhill skiing.Switzerland could climb the podium with Marco Odermatt, Franjo von Allmen and Alexis Monni.
Ice Hockey – 12.10, 14.40, 16.40 and 21.10: Women’s action continues with Canada finally getting ice hockey action after postponing its game against Finland on Thursday.
Cross-Country Skiing - 1:00 p.m.: Women's 10km + 10km Skiathlon where athletes can use normal and free techniques in one race, exchanging halfway.
Speed skating - 16:00.The Dutch have won four of the last five Olympics in the women's 3,000m, the first of the two distance events.
Luge - 5pm and 6:32pm: Two men's singles matches begin.
Ski jumping – 17.45, 18.45 and 19.57: trial round and the first round before the main deciding round.
Snowboard - 7.30pm: The men's big air final will be one of the show-stopping events.Japan has its eye on gold but China's Yiming Su, the 2022 Beijing champion, will not let his title slip away easily.
Figure Skating - 7.45pm and 10.05pm: Two team events take place in men's figure skating and ice dancing.
Buongiorno!If last night's spectacular opening ceremony at the San Siro is anything to go by, Milano Cortina 2026 will be the epitome of Italian fashion.We saw the concept of Armonia (translation: harmony) come to life when the meeting connected 250 miles between the beautiful city of Milan and the snowy peaks of Cortina d'Ampezzo.From Mariah Carey's polyphonic "Volare" to the soothing Nessun Dorma by Andrea Bocelli, it's a night celebrating the Renaissance and the track.
But the party is over and now the 'faster, higher, stronger' business begins in earnest.You can win five gold medals in this competition.
Alpine skiing. Blue ribbon men's skiing is in the center of attention in Bormio.All eyes are on Marco Odermatt as he attempts to conquer the treacherous Stelvio.
Sprint: The women's 3000m will see a first medal on the oval, with Isabelle Weidemann looking to defend her podium pedigree.
Cross-country skiing: 15km + 15km cross-country skiing where the energetic women test their endurance.
Ski and Snowboard Jumping: Medals will be decided in the normal mountains of women and men Snowboard big air.
Beyond the podium, the team battle heats up as Great Britain takes on Canada and USA women's hockey in a heavyweight mixed doubles curling event.Stay tuned for every run, jump and throw.
