Swiss downhill racer Von Allmen edges out Italians to win first gold of Winter Olympics

Hosts claim silver and bronze on a perfect day in BormioSwiss powers to victory as favourite Odermatt falls shortSwitzerland’s Franjo von Allmen produced a stunning run on Stelvio to win the men’s downhill as teammate and race favourite Marco Odermatt missed the podium. The 24-year-old von Allmen barely put a ski off line as he blazed down the sunlit track to win with a time of 1:51.61, smashing Odermatt’s mark by 0.70 seconds.The young Italian Giovanni Franzoni led a powerful home charge in front of 7,000 fans in the Italian resort, but there was to be no dream start to the Milano Cortina Games for the hosts as he had to settle for silver, 0.20 behind. His fellow Italian Dominik Paris, dubbed the king of the Stelvio after his six previous downhill wins on the iconic piste, took the bronze, 0.50sec back. Continue reading...