BORMIO, Italy (AP) — It started with a fresh face from Switzerland namedFranjo von Allmenbursting on the Olympic scene by grabbing the first of an historic three gold medals in ski racing. It ended with a familiar face inMikaela Shiffrinfinding redemption by recapturing her slalom form.
APTOPIX Milan Cortina Olympics Alpine Skiing
In between, afrightful downhill crash by Lindsey Vonn, an Italian renaissance withfive medals(including two golds from 35-year-old Federica Brignone), a samba dance from Lucas Pinheiro Braathenas Brazil won its first Winter Gamesmedal, anOlympic meltdown thatincluded a trip into the woods to find anything but solitude andeven a marriage proposal.
Arrivederci, Italy: The action and drama on the slopes, from Bormio to Cortina d'Ampezzo, was just as eye-catching as the scenery.
"Ski racing is the most incredible sport, because we the athletes stand together through heartbreak and defeat and victory," Shiffrin said. "We're a family."
A return leads to another crash
Vonn competed in the downhill on atorn left ACL shesuffered in a crash in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, nine days before the event. This after the 41-year-old Vonn got a partial knee replacement that allowed her to come out of retirement last season.
She lost control within moments of the start, clipping a gate with her right shoulder and pinwheeling down the slope before ending up awkwardly on her back, her skis crisscrossed below her and her screams ringing out soon after medical personnel arrived. Vonn sustained a complex tibia fracture that has already required multiple surgeries, but is now back home in the U.S.
The 'Golden Era' of the Swiss
The Swiss won eight of the 15 medals on the men's Alpine side (one in Cortina). The nation was led by the 24-year-old von Allmen, who joined a rare men's ski-racing club by becoming just the third to capture three golds at one Olympics. The others are big names in the sport: Jean-Claude Killy of France, who won three at the 1968 Grenoble Games, and Austrian Anton "Toni" Sailer, a three-time winner at the 1956 Cortina Games.
"We're living in a bit of a 'Golden Era' in Switzerland in skiing," said Loic Meillard,the Olympic championin the slalom. "We have to enjoy it while it lasts."
Brignone's 2 golds on home snow made her a superstar
Brignone hardly had any business even being at the Olympics 10 months afterbreaking multiple bones in her left leg. A metal plate, a handful of screws and 42 stitches were required to put her leg back together, leaving her unable to walk until the summer.
Brignone returned to ski racing last month and then won two golds on home snow by dominating thesuper-Gandgiant slalomto become host Italy's star of the Games.
"It almost scares me," Brignone said of her new status. "At this point of my career, after what I've gone through over the past 10 months, I just want to take it easy and live my life."
Time to samba for Pinheiro Braathen
Everyone from the country's president to a Brazilian soccer great reached out to Lucas Pinheiro Braathen after his win in the giant slalom. It was a monumental medal — the first for South America at a Winter Games.
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Pinheiro Braathen grew up competing for Norway before switching to Brazil, his mom's home country. The samba-dancing, fun-lovingPinheiro Braathensoaked up every minute of his achievement. His boyhood idol, soccer great Ronaldinho, even reached out to offer congratulations.
Into the woods for McGrath
The heartbreak was on full display for Atle Lie McGrath when he straddled a gate in the slalom after leading following the first run. The Norwegian racer was so upset he threw his ski poles over a fence before walking to the other side of the course, where he went through the safety netting and trudged along the snow to reach the trees. Once there, he sat down and leaned back.
He was racing with a heavy heart after losing his grandfather on the day of the opening ceremony.
"I just needed to get away from everything," McGrath explained of his walk into the woods. "I've spent my time in the woods, now I'm going to spend time with the people I love."
A gold medal and an engagement ring
Breezy Johnson is bringing home quite a bit of treasure – an Olympic downhill gold medal and an engagement ring. Johnson's longtime boyfriend proposed to her near the finish line after the super-G.
"I had told him that I always dreamed of getting proposed to at the Olympics," Johnson said. "So I had an inkling."
Shiffrin remembers her late father after slalom gold
When Shiffrin ended an eight-race slump at the Olympics by ending the Alpine program with a gold in slalom, it wasn't about silencing critics for the most successful World Cup skier of all time (108 victories and counting).
Shiffrin's thoughts turned to her father, Jeff, whodied at the age of 65in an accident at the family home in Colorado six years ago.
"This was a moment I have dreamed about — I've also been very scared of this moment," Shiffrin said. "Everything in life that you do after you lose someone you love is like a new experience."
Dampf reported from Cortina.
AP Olympics:https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
