Glory awaits as Downhill gets Alpine underway at Milano Cortina

Feb 06, 2026·Alpine Skiing

Our Games gets underway on Saturday with the Men's Downhill @FIS/ActionPress/Kenjiro Matsuo | aflo

It all begins here. After four long years of waiting, the attention of the world turns to Milano-Cortina as the 2026 Winter Olympic Games gets underway.

And for the world of Alpine, it all begins on Saturday and Sunday (7/8February) with the Downhill.

A stellar cast list awaits Bormio and Cortina D’Ampezzo. A list of World Cup icons, returning superstars and Olympic greats have all put in their final pieces of preparation. Now, it's time to turn practice into perfection.

The Men's Downhill

Vying for Swiss Supremacy

While many teams have their hopes for the downhill, the Swiss team enter these Games with expectations. Marco Odermatt and 2025 World Champion Franjo von Allmen have both been nigh on untouchable of late. One and two respectively in the World Cup standings, the duo have five of the six possible World Cup victories between them this season, including von Allmen’s win just last weekend in Crans Montana.

Reflecting on that win, von Allmen confessed: “It gives a lot of confidence. I’ll try to show my best skiing in Bormio. But this was really important and I’ll go in with a good feeling.”

Odermatt will go in with the same feeling too, particularly given his Olympic title in the Giant Slalom to his name already from Beijing 2022. “The downhill is the biggest discipline in our sport, but in the end if you are able to win a medal, you have to take it wherever it is."

It’s a technical downhill, but it will be different this year. In February, we don’t really know how they will prepare the snow so for sure it will be different from other years.”– Marco Odermatt (SUI) on Downhill

Could it be home success?

Every nation and every individual want to experience success, but there’s perhaps something a little more pressing for those preparing for a home Games. For the Italian squad, that rings particularly true in Bormio. Occupying three of the top five spots in the World Cup standings, it’s been a stellar campaign thus far and it only threatens to get better in the coming days.

“My goal before the season was to reach the top 30 in the (FIS World Cup) start list in the downhill and maybe try and reach a (World Cup) podium in the super-G” explains Giovanni Franzoni. Victory in Kitzbuhel two weeks ago gave Franzoni the timing to put the rest of the pack on notice, the only Italian downhill victory in the men’s competition during this World Cup season thus far.

But while Franzoni is preparing to go above and beyond, so is teammate Dominik Paris on a course he knows so, so well. His Games experiences so far have been mixed, but the Stelvio slopes provide an all-together different chance. With seven World Cup titles there (nobody else has more than three), Paris has more than a chance at a sacred home podium.

It's a fight between the slope and you. Who is stronger? Normally, with the dark light during the World Cup tour, it's dark, it's bumpy, it's icy. You know you have to push on that line but sometimes it's not possible because of the bumps. So you have to fight to the finish. That is what's so fascinating about this hill."– Dominik Paris (ITA/Nordica) on Stelvio

In the first training session on Wednesday, both Paris and Franzoni recorded top five finishes, with Franzoni behind only USA's Ryan Cochran-Siegle. The second training had Franzoni third in an all-Italian show, Mattia Casse and Florian Schieder occupying the top times.

"It feels good" Franzoni explained after Thursday's training. "We are a good team, we are skiing really well. But it's the second training, we are two days ahead (of the event) and the conditions are changing day by day, so we will see."

The Women’s Downhill

The world awaits Lindsey Vonn

It’s the return that has gripped the sporting world – and it only gets more incredible by the day. Lindsey Vonn (USA) made a triumphant comeback to the alpine stage in late 2024, returning with the same pace, guile and determination as ever before. But this past week has been a whole new chapter in the Vonn book.

“Last Friday in Crans Montana, the last World Cup, I completely ruptured my ACL” Vonn told the media on Tuesday. “We have been doing extensive therapy. I've been consulting with doctors, been in the gym, and today I went skiing. Considering how my knee feels, I feel stable, I feel strong. My knee is not swollen, and with the help of a knee brace, I am confident that I can compete on Sunday."

Friday's downhill training provided the big test for Vonn - one she passed with flying colours. While it wasn't about the time recorded, a completed 1:40.33 made a statement. It's one monumental challenge overcome. Her coach, Aksel Lund Svindal, told the media after training that "she felt OK and she knew she made some mistakes. It was all good. She's been very committed since the first day. She is convinced this will work."

I have always pushed the limits and in downhill, it's a very dangerous sport, and anything can happen. Because I push the limits, I crash and I've been injured more times than I would like to admit, to myself even. But those are the cards I've been dealt in my life, and I'm going to play my cards the best way I can.”– Lindsey Vonn (USA) speaks to the media

Of the five downhills this season, Vonn has appeared on all podiums. If she can reach the podium this time, it would become one of the most incredible stories of not just this Olympic Games, but of them all.

But equally for USA, they have the luxury of having the reigning World Champion in their ranks. Breezy Johnson triumphed at the 2025 Worlds. That win? 8 February. This downhill? 8 February.

A Downhill of possibility

Five World Cups. Four winners. The 2025-26 World Cup in downhill has been anything but predictable, with four winners from four different nations all standing on the top step. While it’s Vonn who leads the standings, it’s a German duo who have made some of the biggest statements thus far.

Emma Aicher and Kira Weidle-Winkelmann are in two and three respectively in the downhill World Cup rankings. The former has a World Cup title to her name from this year in St.Moritz, while the latter has second-placed finishes from Val d’Isere and Tarvisio. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter (AUT) took the gold in Val d’Isere, while Nicol Delago (ITA) won the last completed downhill in Tarvisio.

Just like in the men’s competition, the Italian team enter a home Games with high ambitions. Of the World Cup standings, fourth and joint fifth are occupied by their athletes, with Delago just behind Laura Pirovano. She’s level on 180 points with Sofia Goggia from the campaign so far. For 2018 Olympic champion Goggia, it’s a chance to make it three downhill medals from three Games.

Olympic champion, World Cup downhill titles, the desire to get back up and win again…deep down, I know I still have so much left to give– Sofia Goggia speaks to Sport Finanza on her Olympic hopes

And a moment for Federica Brignone too. Back from injury, back on the slopes and a flagbearer for her nation at a home Games. It's going to be a special few days for Federica. "I think tonight I will be like a child who sees their most desired gift, right?" she exclaimed after Friday's training. "With a 50,000-tooth smile. I will try and enjoy the whole moment. I can't wait!"