Franjo von Allmen topped the podium on the demanding Bormio course.
WASHINGTON — Swiss racer Franjo von Allmen captured the Olympic downhill Saturday to win the first gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games.
On a picture-perfect day in Bormio, von Allmen powered through the challenging course in 1 minute, 51.61 seconds.
His time was good enough to withstand the charge of Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni, who finished with the silver medal. Franzoni’s teammate, the 36-year-old Dominik Paris, had a fast run to take bronze and knock Marco Odermatt of Switzerland off the podium.
The Americans finished off the podium, led by Kyle Negomir in 10th, 1.59 seconds behind von Allmen. Bryce Bennett was 13th, 1.84 seconds back, followed by Ryan Cochran-Siegle in 18th (2.02 back) and Sam Morse in 19th (2.07 back).
Cochran-Siegle, competing in his third Winter Olympics, entered the men’s downhill after being fastest in the opening downhill training session earlier this week. He previously won silver in the super-G at the Beijing Games four years ago.
The course is one of the most physically demanding on the World Cup circuit, at almost 3,230 meters long with a 986-meter vertical drop and a maximum gradient of 63%.
Swiss skiers were among the favorites heading into the race, and world champion Franjo von Allmen delivered, winning the gold for Switzerland.
The home crowd also backed Dominik Paris, who was competing in his fifth Games and was looking for his first Olympic medal. The 36-year-old Italian is a Bormio specialist, having won a record six World Cup downhills there. Paris met expectations, earning bronze.