Dominik Paris put on a show in his living room. © APA/afp / FABRICE COFFRINI

Olympic medal! Dominik Paris provides a dream start

Dominik Paris has broken the spell: The South Tyrolean won his first Olympic medal in the downhill in Bormio, ensuring a dream start for the Italian team. Alongside Paris, another Italian athlete also celebrated a medal.

February 07, 2026

From: dl

The first of 116 medal events at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina is over. Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen won the men's downhill in Bormio, ahead of the two Italians Giovanni Franzoni and Gianni Paris. Paris thus secured a medal for South Tyrol in the very first event of these Games.

For Paris, it's their first ever Olympic medal – and it shines in bronze. The skier from Ultental once again demonstrated on Saturday why the Stelvio slope in Bormio seems tailor-made for him. The 36-year-old was the fastest of all in the upper section of the course. In perfect weather, he delivered another wild run down his favorite track, where he has already triumphed seven times in the World Cup.

Franzoni also wins a medal

At the finish, Paris was half a second behind von Allmen. The Stelvio was as bumpy as ever, but that didn't seem to bother the Swiss skier. With an absolutely dream run, von Allmen won gold in his very first Olympic race. Franzoni also celebrated his debut. The young man from Manerba on Lake Garda, like von Allmen, is 24 years old and was able to celebrate winning silver. Both are extremely carefree and represent the new generation in downhill skiing.

With Franzoni's silver and Paris's bronze, Italy secured two medals right at the start of their home Games. Franzoni had never stood on a World Cup podium before this season – and can now call himself both Kitzbühel champion and Olympic silver medalist. There was disappointment, however, for Marco Odermatt. The 28-year-old Swiss skier missed out on his second Olympic medal, finishing two-tenths of a second behind Paris in the unenviable fourth place.

As the race progressed, the lighting conditions deteriorated. This also affected the second South Tyrolean, Florian Schieder, who finished in 16th place. However, Schieder celebrated his finish with his two teammates. For Paris, the medal is a great source of satisfaction. after his fourth place in the downhill race in PyeongChang in 2018.

Men's Olympic downhill in Bormio:

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