The men’s downhill race at the Milan-Cortina Olympics opens with a silver and a bronze for Italy. Giovanni Franzoni won the silver medal, preceding Dominik Paris, bronze. The gold went to the Swiss Franjo von Allmen, who finished the race with a time of 1’51″61.
Race on the edge of cents
Franzoni finished the race just 20 hundredths behind the winner, while Paris had a gap of 50 hundredths. At the foot of the podium was the big favourite, the Swiss Mario Odermatt, who finished in fourth place.
The other blues
Among the other Italians competing, Mattia Casse finished in eleventh place, while Florian Schieder ranked 17th.
Gold missing since 1952
Despite the blue podium, gold in the Olympic men’s downhill event eludes Italy once again. The last success remains that achieved by Zeno Colò at the 1952 Oslo Games.