Swiss sweep again. Von Allmen beats Odermatt in World Cup downhill and takes title race to the US

KVITFJELL, Norway (AP) — In yet another Swiss duel in World Cup men's downhills, Franjo von Allmen edged teammate Marco Odermatt to win Saturday and send their season-long title contest to the final race in the United States.

Von Allmen, the new world champion aged just 23, finished 0.28 seconds ahead of Odermatt, who needed an agile recovery midway down the 1994 Olympics slope to stay upright.

Stefan Rogentin completed a Swiss sweep of the podium in third, trailing 0.38 behind Von Allmen.

Switzerland waited 29 years to finish 1-2-3 in a World Cup men’s downhill at Crans-Montana on Feb. 22. The next one came just 14 days later.

Both times Von Allmen won and Odermatt was runner-up. Odermatt smiled in the finish area Saturday and as a show of respect pointed toward his good friend sitting course-side in the leader's box.

“We are still friends even if we fight for the same globe (trophy)," said Odermatt, who had Von Allmen as runner-up in both of his downhill wins this season, at Val Gardena, Italy in December and storied Swiss venue Wengen in January.

Von Allmen earned 100 World Cup points and Odermatt got 80. That cut Odermatt’s lead in the downhill standings to 83 and he needs just a top-14 result on March 22 at Sun Valley, Idaho, to retain his downhill title.

“The fight is almost lost," Von Allmen acknowledged, "but everything can happen. We will see what Marco shows us and what I can show in Sun Valley.”

Odermatt is cruising toward a fourth straight overall World Cup title with a 520-point lead over Henrik Kristoffersen, who races only in slalom and giant slalom. The 27-year-old Odermatt can confirm his title Sunday by winning a scheduled super-G.

Von Allmen’s breakout season now counts two wins in World Cup downhills, one in super-G and two worlds gold medals last month at Saalbach, Austria, in downhill and team combined.

He clocked the fastest speed Saturday at close to 130 kph (81 mph) — slicker than the squirrels caught on camera scampering across the snow to the forest behind the safety fences — on the 3.04-kilometer (1.9-mile) course used at the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Games.

Von Allmen said he was more at ease than when finishing fourth in the downhill on Friday, racing then on softer snow in the sunshine, when he landed a wild, long jump.

“Today with the cold temperatures and compact snow it felt much better,” he said.

It was Odermatt's turn Saturday to have a moment that worried viewers he was about to crash out.

“Everyone says that (it was crazy). I actually didn’t really feel it like that," Odermatt said, adding "but for sure that upper part was far away from my plan. I totally missed the line.”

Italian star Dominik Paris had denied Switzerland victory in Friday’s downhill when Odermatt was second and Rogentin third. Paris placed sixth Saturday trailing 0.59 behind Von Allmen.

Rogentin got back-to-back third places in the week he submitted his thesis for a Masters degree in sustainable business development.

“I’m pretty happy I finished my Masters but in two weeks I have to do the speech,” he said. “I’m more nervous for a race, of course.”

Sun Valley stages the week-long World Cup finals meeting for men and women from March 22-27 — returning to the circuit for the first time since 1977, when just slalom and giant slalom were raced.

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

From left, second placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, the winner Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen and third placed Switzerland's Stefan Rogentin celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

From left, second placed Switzerland's Marco Odermatt, the winner Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen and third placed Switzerland's Stefan Rogentin celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Italy's Dominik Paris speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Slovenia's Miha Hrobat reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Austria's Stefan Babinsky speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Stefan Rogentin reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kvitfjell, Norway, Saturday, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

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)