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Gold medalist Franjo von Allmen of Team Switzerland, Silver medalist Giovanni Franzoni of Team Italy, and bronze medalist Dominik Paris of Team Italy pose for a photo following the Men's Downhill during the 2026 Winter Olympics. Oliver Weiken/dpa
Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen joined an elite group when he claimed his third gold at the Milan/Cortina Olympics with a super-g sucess that also makes him the first man to get a speed event double at one Games.
Von Allmen won the downhill on Saturday and the team combined with Tanguy Nef on Monday before striking again on Wednesday ahead of American Ryan Cochran-Siegle and the other Swiss great, Marco Odermatt, who missed out on gold again.
Von Allmen became the first man to get a downhill/super-g double at one Games (Austrian Michaela Dorfmeister achieved it on the women's side in 2006) and he is also the first ever Swiss skier to win an Olympic super-g.
He joins Austrian legend Toni Sailer (1956), French great Jean-Claude Killy (1968) and Croatia's Janica Kostelic (2002) as triple gold medallists in alpine skiing at one Games.
But von Allem shrugged off the comparisons, saying: “It sounds stupid, but I’m not really interested in what’s on the paper. For me, I’m really trying to enjoy the Olympics here, and maybe in a few years it will be important for me. But for now, it isn’t really.”
However, he delighted in his achievements at the Games which "I was absolutely not expecting.
“You could say it was a perfect Olympic Games. I think maybe after a few days it will be even more special, and I can really understand what is going on," he said.
Twice world champion von Allmen has made himself immortal after hardship early in his career. He needed a crowdfunding campaign to stay in the sport at young age following the death of his father before making it into the Swiss team.
"I already said after the first one that this medal is not only for me but for those behind me and a thank you for all the work," he said.
Von Allmen could afford a small mistake in the lower section of the Stelvio piste as he clocked 1 minute 25.32 seconds to prevail by .13 of a second ahead of Cochran-Siegle who got silver as in 2022.
World champion Odermatt, who has been the dominant skier of the last years with multiple overall and discipline World Cup titles, missed a first 2026 gold again by .28 for bronze.
He came fourth in the downhill and got silver in the team combined with Loic Meillard. His last chance for gold comes on the weekend in his pet event, the giant slalom where he got gold in 2022.
Early bibs helped on a warm afternoon with von Allmen the seventh skier, Cochran-Siegle the third and Odermatt the 10th.
“I was sure that it wasn’t enough for the podium, or even for the gold medal. I’m pretty sure you can ski faster down here," von Allmen said.
"Also I maybe had a little bit of luck with the bib and the snow, which was getting a bit slower.”
Odermatt said: "Gold was the aim but I also have to be satisfied with bronze because I am only three-hundredths ahead of fourth place."
"The weather was really strange. The earlier bibs were much better," he added.
Downhill silver medallist Giovanni Franzoni came sixth while fellow-Italian bronze medallist Dominik Paris suffered heartbreak when his binding opened at high speed and he lost his right ski. Paris escaped injuries but was on shock over the incident.
"I tried to push a little bit more on that bumpy section and I lost my ski. It's a bit heavy for me to accept that, but what do you do?"
"I leave with a medal, it's a big dream come true. But today was another possibility to have another one and I couldn't show my skills, my skiing, to get to the bottom and that hurts."
Austria missed out, with world championship silver medallist Raphael Haaser their best in fifth place in a tight race where the top 10 were separated by less than one second.
The super-g was contested by 42 skiers, six more than in the downhill.
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Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates first place in the Alpine Skiing Men's Downhill at Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio during the 2026 Winter Olympics. with his gold medal at the award ceremony. Oliver Weiken/dpa
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