February 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\nGiovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris both led briefly down the fearsome Stelvio course but had to settle for silver and bronze medals respectively, clocking times of 1:51.81 and 1:52.11.<\/p>\n
Odermatt, a four-time defending overall World Cup champion, started as a strong favourite and led the field as he looked to claim his first Olympic downhill title.<\/p>\n
But ultimately it was Von Allmen, a 24-year-old with just four World Cup downhill wins to his name, who clocked the winning time. Ireland’s Comerford was some 12 seconds behind.<\/p>\n
After the race, 29-year-old Comerford said: “It’s an incredible feeling to make my Olympic debut today in this weather, on this slope. To bring it down Stelvio is a huge achievement, coming from the artificial slope back home. There\u2019s a huge sense of pride. I made a few mistakes in the run, it felt smoother in training, but that\u2019s racing and I\u2019m really proud to have brought it down.”<\/p>\n
On the challenge of starting last, he added: “Everyone’s eyes are on you, and the track is probably as destroyed as it can be. It\u2019s definitely more challenging, but the snow grip team did an amazing job keeping the conditions good and safe.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a pleasure to ride this slope. It\u2019s renowned on the World Cup circuit as one of the toughest slopes in the world so it\u2019s great that I\u2019ve had the opportunity to run this track, in these conditions, at this time of the year.”<\/p>\n