It’s officially Day 1 of the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games and there will be medals handed out. One has already been won, while there will be podium setups and anthems for winners of the women’s 20 km skiathlon, women’s 3000m speed skating, men’s big air snowboarding, and women’s normal hill ski jumping.
Lindsey Vonn continues her preparation for Sunday’s downhill, and the U.S. women’s hockey team looks to improve to 2-0 as they face Finland, which was affected by this week’s norovirus outbreak.
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Here are the top stories of the day so far:
1. Franjo von Allmen earns the first gold of the Milan Cortina Games
Saturday’s men’s downhill was the first medal event of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The 24-year-old von Allmen, who is the reigning World Champion in the downhill, beat out Italy’s Giovanni Franzoni by .20 for his first Olympic gold medal with a time of 1:51.61.
Kyle Neogmir was the top American, finishing 10th.
2. Lindsey Vonn ready to go for gold
Lindsey Vonn finished her second training run on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s downhill event, eight days after she ruptured her ACL. The 41-year-old skiing legend finished with a time of 1:38.28, two seconds faster than her Friday time. That put her third among skiers who finished before weather canceled the remainder of training. American Breezy Johnson posted the fastest time of the day.
3. Eileen Gu bounces back to qualify for women’s slopestyle final
The 22-year-old Gu was a silver medalist in the event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and also took home gold in big air and halfpipe. She fell during her first qualifying run on Saturday and needed a strong showing in run No. 2 in order to finish within the top 12.
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She delivered a score of 75.30 to finish second behind 2022 gold medalist Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland to advance to Monday’s final.
4. Switzerland vs. Canada in women’s hockey still on after positive norovirus test
The Swiss women’s hockey team has placed itself in isolation after a player tested positive for norovirus following a group play win over Czechia on Friday, the Swiss hockey federation announced.
Finland already saw their opening game against Canada postponed until Feb. 12 after 14 players fell ill and needed to be quarantined.
The Swiss team’s decision to isolate was described as a precautionary measure, made in consultation with experts and its on-site medical team. Switzerland is scheduled to play its second match against Canada on Saturday at 9:10 a.m. local time, with a clash against Team USA following on Monday.
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Highlight of the morning
Franjo von Allman and his gold medal-winning run in the downhill:
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