Odermatt beats fast-emerging Von Allmen in Switzerland's classic World Cup downhill

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — It surely ranked among the best and most joyous five minutes in Alpine skiing history for the Swiss men's team and fans at the race they prize above all.

Marco Odermatt, the superstar of men’s skiing, raced down the longest and quirkiest World Cup downhill course to edge teammate Franjo von Allmen for victory in the classic Lauberhorn race.

As Odermatt waited at the start gate, Von Allmen delighted a noisy crowd of 40,000 with the latest standout display of his breakout season to set the fastest time, one day after getting his first World Cup win in a super-G.

Odermatt would not be denied on a near-perfect day for downhill racing on fast, hard snow under sunshine and blue skies in temperatures of 2 degrees (36 F) at the finish.

“This is my house!” Odermatt declared in English on seeing he was 0.37 seconds faster than Von Allmen.

Third-placed Miha Hrobat was 0.57 back after setting a fast target as the first starter.

The celebration was a shoutout to Daniel Yule, Odermatt said later of his Swiss teammate with British parents who said the same on winning a slalom at nearby Adelboden in 2020.

Von Allmen hugged Odermatt and shared exuberant smiles as he gave up his seat in the course-side leader’s box to his good friend.

Wengen is fast becoming Odermatt’s house, after winning both downhills on the course one year ago and being runner-up behind Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in the two previous years. Kilde is skipping this season to recover from injuries suffered while crashing at Wengen last year.

“It’s the most important race for me this year,” Odermatt told Swiss broadcaster RTS of the Lauberhorn downhill now in its 95th year. It is a standout event in Switzerland’s sports and social calendar.

“It’s super cool. Today the skiing is perfect, the course, the snow. The feeling on my feet was fantastic,” the three-time defending overall World Cup champion said after extending his lead in the standings.

The snow conditions set up for fast skiing and Italian veteran Dominik Paris was clocked at 154.99 kph (96 mph) on the straight Haneggschuss section two minutes into the run. It was there in 2013 that Johan Clarey of France set the World Cup record speed of 161.9 kph (100.6 mph). Paris finished fourth.

Still, the 4.45-kilometers (2 ¾-mile) course that twists beneath the Eiger, Jungfrau and Mönch mountain peaks is always tiring and two-time Lauberhorn winner Vincent Kriechmayr crashed hard into safety fences before the final turn.

Kriechmayr stood up and later was seen limping with a right leg injury that the Austrian team confirmed was “a severe strain” to a knee ligament.

French racer Blaise Giezendanner was airlifted from the course after crashing midway down his run. The French team later said Giezendanner tore the ACL in his right knee.

Odermatt also leads the downhill standings from Von Allmen, who has been runner-up in three straight downhills.

In a discipline where racers often peak in their 30s, Von Allmen shapes already as an elite racer in just his second year competing at Wengen. He placed 14th last year in both of Odermatt's wins.

Von Allmen was saluted in the finish area by International Ski Federation president Johan Eliasch, who also owns the Head ski brand the Swiss prospect uses.

Swiss men have placed 1-2 in all four World Cup downhills this season. Odermatt has won two, with Justin Murisier and Alexis Monney winning the others.

“It’s incredible, you have to give it to them,” Eliasch said. “The dominance in speed across the board is something for everybody else to aspire to.”

Austria’s classic race is next Saturday for the downhillers, the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel that is a shorter course than Wengen but the most feared.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates on the podium after winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, celebrates on the podium with second-placed Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen, left, and third-placed Slovenia's Miha Hrobat, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Mt. Eiger, 3,967-meter (13,015 ft), overlooks an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Slovenia's Miha Hrobat speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr skis on a single ski as he comes down the slope after crashing during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates at the finish area of an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025 (AP Photo/Giovanni Maria Pizzato)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.

Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.

U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.

"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”

Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.

“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”

Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.

U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.

Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.

Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.

Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.

"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.

The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.

The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.

“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.

“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”

The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)