Winter Olympics Preparations in Bormio
In Bormio, Italy, skiers prepared for the upcoming Winter Olympics, with the second downhill training session taking place on Thursday. Among the competitors, the Italian contingent is eager to secure their positions on the starting lineup.
Training Highlights
Mattia Casse clocked the fastest time during this session; however, he missed a gate at a crucial moment. His teammates, Florian Schieder and Giovanni Franzoni, finished in second and third place, respectively.
Franzoni, a rising star on the Italian squad and recent downhill champion in Kitzbuhel, Austria, has already clinched his spot for the Olympics, alongside Dominik Paris, who holds the record for most World Cup victories at Bormio with seven. Casse and Schieder, along with Christof Innerhofer—who finished seventh—are competing for the final two available positions.
Notable Incidents
Notably, established favorites such as Marco Odermatt and American skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle, who led the initial training session on Wednesday, opted for a more conservative approach by only testing certain sections of the Stelvio course, remaining upright for the majority of their runs.
During Thursday’s training, Austria’s Daniel Hemetsberger had a frightening incident; he lost control mid-run, was thrown off balance, and crashed into a gate, resulting in his helmet being dislodged. He subsequently collided with safety nets at high speed but managed to recover quickly, albeit while holding his face and nose.
Looking Ahead
With one final training session scheduled for Friday, the excitement builds for the downhill race set for Saturday, where the first Alpine skiing medal of the Games will be contested.
___AP Winter Olympics
