Giovanni Franzoni's win in Wengen super-G makes him an Olympic contender for host Italy

WENGEN, Switzerland (AP) — Host Italy has a new contender in Alpine skiing with the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics three weeks away.

Giovanni Franzoni claimed his first World Cup victory on the famed Lauberhorn course in a super-G Friday — four months after his close friend and former roommate, Matteo Franzoso, died in a crash during preseason training in Chile.

The 24-year-old Franzoni — a former world junior champion in super-G, downhill and Alpine combined — was the first racer on course and took advantage of the No. 1 bib to deliver a near-perfect run.

Reaching a top speed of 140.44 kph (87 mph), Franzoni finished 0.35 seconds ahead of Stefan Babinsky of Austria and 0.37 ahead of downhill world champion Franjo von Allmen of Switzerland.

Franzoni handled the tricky Canadian Corner and Kernen S sections on the upper portion of the course cleaner than anyone else.

“I made the difference on the turn where I crashed a few years ago,” he said, referring to his season-ending fall in a super-G in 2023 that resulted in thigh surgery.

Swiss overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt, a four-time winner in Wengen, placed fourth, 0.53 behind.

The top American was Ryan Cochran-Siegle in sixth.

Franzoni also led both downhill training sessions and could be a contender in the classic downhill on Saturday. His previous best World Cup finish was third in a super-G on home snow in Val Gardena last month.

Now Franzoni will be among the leaders for Italy’s team in Bormio, where men’s Alpine skiing will be contested during the Olympics.

“If you had told me that I would be third in Val Gardena and then win here — on the two courses that I've had the most trouble on — I wouldn't have believed it,” Franzoni said.

The opening ceremony for the Games is scheduled for Feb. 6.

“I don't know about the future, but the present has changed," Franzoni said. “We always live day by day. I carry the memory of Matteo Franzoso with me at every race.”

Marco Schwarz, the Austrian who won the previous super-G in Livigno, Italy, last month, missed the race due to sickness.

Also sitting out this weekend is Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, the Norwegian standout who returned this season after a horrific crash in Wengen two years ago.

“This year," Kilde said on Instagram this week, "it’s just a little too early.”

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

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Giovanni Franzoni of Italy takes a jump during the alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G race, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Jean-Christophe Bott/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Switzerland's Franjo von Allmen reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Austria's Stefan Babinsky speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni reacts at finish line during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Giovanni Zenoni)

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup super-G, in Wengen, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

U.S. Biathlon head coach Armin Auchentaller will leave the team at the end of this season after the Americans failed to win their first medal in the sport at the Winter Olympics.

No replacement was named, which is significant since he oversees both the men's and the women's teams. He took on the dual role when the previous men's team coach left after the 2022 Olympics.

Auchentaller, an Italian, brought the U.S. biathlon team inside knowledge to the Milan Cortina Games, having grown up skiing and racing at the range used for the Olympic competition. His assistant coach and the ski wax technicians are also from the Anterselva region. The team even produced a documentary about their quest for the teams' first Olympic podium finish: “Long Shots: U.S. Biathlon's Underdog Story.”

Yet they came up short.

Campbell Wright, the team's best hope for an Olympic medal after two silver medals at the world championships, said the skis the team was given for the 20-kilometer individual Olympic race were waxed poorly, making them slower on the ski tracks and less competitive in the race.

“The individual was a bit brutal, honestly, with the cards we were dealt,” he said after the 10-kilometer sprint race. “I don't think we had the best skis.”

Wright's best individual performance of the Olympics was eighth place in the 12.5-kilometer pursuit race. He also helped bring the men's team up to a fifth place in the 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay.

Only three of the eight U.S. team members, Wright, Paul Schommer and Deedra Irwin, finished the sprint race high enough to qualify for the pursuit race. And Campbell was the only U.S. team member to compete in the 15-kilometer mass start, finishing last in a race that showcases the top 30 biathletes based on Olympic and World Cup standings.

Auchentaller did not say where he was going or why.

"As I step away from my role with US Biathlon after 13 years, I do so with a full heart and deep gratitude," he said in the team's release. “This has never been just a job to me, it has been a shared mission, a daily commitment, and a journey that challenged and shaped me in ways I will always carry forward.”

U.S. Biathlon CEO Jack Gierhart praised Auchentaller for focusing on "building something that lasts.”

“He has shaped not only results, but the culture of this team that is grounded in excellence and built on respect, grit and a growth mindset, one that has elevated our performance and strengthened our entire organization,” he said.

Auchentaller's role with the U.S. team had changed over the years. He started out as the men's coach in 2009 but left to coach the Swiss women from 2014 to 2018, at which point he returned to coach the U.S. women's team.

Auchentaller was in that post during the Beijing Olympics when Irwin finished seventh in the 15-kilomether individual race, the highest U.S. individual placing in any Winter Games to this day. Norwegian Vegard Bitnes coached the men in Beijing, but left the team afterward and Auchentaller at that point oversaw both.

U.S. women’s team member Joanne Reid said combining the teams was detrimental to their performance. Irwin's best finishes in Italy were 34th, 35th and 47th. Teammate Margie Freed had the highest finish for the woman, 21st in the individual. Most of the other results were far behind.

“There was an objective and clear decline in women’s team results since they lost an exclusive women’s team coach,” Reid told The Associated Press in an email. “That’s a pattern that has been evident through coaching cycles in the program’s history, and not just from a single Olympic cycle. Running two different gender teams on the same training plan means one or the other is getting sub-optimal training.”

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

Campbell Wright, of the United States, competes in the men's 15-kilometer mass start biathlon race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Anterselva, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)