BORMIO, Italy — The inaugural Olympic team combined event witnessed a thrilling display of alpine skiing prowess as Italian skier Giovanni Franzoni delivered the fastest downhill run, establishing a narrow advantage for the host nation. The innovative competition format, making its Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games, pairs one athlete specializing in downhill with another in slalom, combining their times for the final standings.
Franzoni’s exceptional performance places Team Italy in prime position, with technical specialist Alex Vinatzer preparing to tackle the slalom course while protecting a fragile lead. The Italian team faces formidable competition from three Swiss squads positioned within striking distance.
Swiss-3 team, featuring Alexis Monney’s downhill effort and slalom expert Daniel Yule, trails by a mere 0.17 seconds. The prestigious Swiss-1 team, headlined by four-time World Cup champion Marco Odermatt partnering with technical ace Loic Meillard, sits third at 0.28 seconds behind. Olympic downhill champion Franjo von Allten teams with Tanguy Nef on the fourth-placed Swiss squad.
The competition remains exceptionally tight with five teams within one second of the lead. Switzerland’s dominance in this discipline was previously demonstrated at last year’s world championships where they captured all three medals. The nation has strategically reconfigured their pairings for the Olympic stage, with Odermatt now collaborating with Meillard instead of previous configurations.
Adding to Italy’s strong showing, another national team featuring weekend downhill bronze medalist Dominik Paris and Tommaso Sala occupies fifth position after the downhill phase.
The women’s team combined event scheduled for Tuesday promises equal excitement, featuring the world championship-winning duo of Mikaela Shiffrin and newly crowned Olympic champion Breezy Johnson, who secured her title in Sunday’s individual competition.