World champion Franjo Von Allmen edges Marco Odermatt in Swiss podium sweep of World Cup downhill

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — A first Swiss sweep of a World Cup men's downhill podium in 29 years. A teammate cleared of cancer. It was a stellar day for the home team.

World champion Franjo von Allmen led a 1-2-3 result on home snow Saturday at the first World Cup downhill since winning his first career gold medal two weeks ago.

Von Allmen rode out a late scare getting unbalanced after landing the final jump to finish 0.13 seconds ahead of team leader Marco Odermatt. Alexis Monney, the worlds bronze medalist, was again third trailing Von Allmen by 0.42.

The standout Switzerland speed team has won five of the six World Cup downhills this season and placed runner-up in all six. The last time Swiss men swept a World Cup downhill podium was in 1996 at nearby Veysonnaz when Bruno Kernen won.

When the Swiss national anthem played at the victory ceremony, Von Allmen, Odermatt and Monney took off their caps to reveal matching buzz-cut hair after the team-bonding haircuts they all had at the worlds held at Saalbach, Austria.

Switzerland threatens an era of downhill domination ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics. Odermatt is the oldest at 27 in an event where many racers typically peak in their 30s.

The Swiss trio also showed mastery of the Nationale course at Crans-Montana which will host the next world championships in 2027.

“It just feels amazing," Von Allmen said, and was asked why Switzerland's team was so good this season. "Difficult to say, there are so many puzzles which need to (fit) together. The good Swiss weather, maybe.”

Von Allmen and Monney are having thrilling breakout seasons to back up Odermatt’s drive toward a fourth straight overall World Cup title.

“It’s incredible what they show us this year,” Odermatt said of his teammates. "They are really hard to beat. I had a perfect run, I gave it all.”

Odermatt earned 80 World Cup points to extend his lead in the overall standings to 400 ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen, who does not race in speed events.

With two World Cup downhill wins this season, Odermatt also leads the discipline standings by 73 from Von Allmen, who was runner-up in three races. Von Allmen's first career World Cup win was in a super-G last month, also in Switzerland at Wengen.

A standout race for the Swiss followed the announcement Saturday that teammate Niels Hintermann is clear of the lymph node cancer that kept him from racing this season. The 29-year-old Hintermann is a two-time winner in Wold Cup downhills.

Sunshine broke through the clouds on a 1 Celsius (34 degrees) day as Monney started wearing bib No. 6 to give him a clearer view of the course contours ahead. He posted the fastest time racing to the finish line next to the chalet where the late James Bond actor Roger Moore lived.

The No. 2 starter Florian Schieder clocked the fastest speed just over 126 kph (78 mph) along the 3.6-kilometer (2¼- mile) course.

A super-G race is scheduled Sunday, the first since Odermatt won the world title Feb. 7 in Saalbach, Austria.

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From left, second placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, the winner Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen and third placed Switzerland's Alexis Monney celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

From left, second placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, the winner Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen and third placed Switzerland's Alexis Monney celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Second placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, the winner Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen and third placed Switzerland's Alexis Monney celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

The winner Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen celebrates after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

From left, second placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, the winner Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen and third placed Switzerland's Alexis Monney celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

The mascot of 2026 Ski World Championship is seen at the finish line prior to an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

United States' Ryan Cochran Siegle speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Alexis Monney reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Crans Montana, Switzerland, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)