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)

LONDON (AP) — A 45-year-old man was charged Friday with attempted murder in the stabbings of two Jewish men in London, the latest in a string of attacks that have sparked fear and anger in Britain's Jewish community.

Essa Suleiman was remanded into custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates' Court to face two counts related to the attack in Golders Green. He also faces a third count of attempted murder over an incident elsewhere in the city earlier Wednesday that left a man with minor injuries.

Police have labeled the Golders Green attack an act of terrorism.

Suleiman, a Somalia-born British citizen who lives in London, did not enter a plea. His case was transferred to the Central Criminal Court for a May 15 hearing.

Prosecutor Emma Harraway said Suleiman attacked Ishmail Hussein, his friend of 20 years, in south London before taking a train to the north part of the city where he targeted Jews hours later.

Shloime Rand, 34, was stabbed in the chest outside a synagogue, puncturing his lung, and Norman Shine, 76, who was wearing a traditional Jewish skullcap, was stabbed in the neck at a bus stop.

“As Mr. Shine adjusted his kippah, Suleiman ran towards him and set upon him, launching a series of aggressive blows," Harraway said.

Rand was discharged from the hospital and Shine is in stable condition.

Police said Suleiman was referred in 2020 to the government’s Prevent program, which tries to steer individuals away from extremism. The police force said his file was closed later the same year, and didn’t disclose the reason for the referral.

The British government pledged to tackle antisemitism after the stabbings in an area in north London that is an epicenter of Britain’s Jewish community. The assault followed a string of arson attacks on synagogues and other Jewish sites in London in recent weeks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his government would increase security for the Jewish community and “do everything in our power to stamp this hatred out.”

Britain’s official terror threat level was raised from substantial to severe after Wednesday’s stabbing attack. Severe is the second-highest rung on a five-point scale and means intelligence agencies consider an attack highly likely in the next six months.

The government said the change was not due solely to the Golders Green attack but also due to increased danger “from Islamist and extreme right-wing terrorist threat from individuals and small groups based in the U.K.”

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, center, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, right, and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, 2nd left, speak with members of the Jewish community during a visit to Golders Green, north west London, Thursday April 30, 2026, following an attack on Wednesday in which two men were stabbed. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)

Police on duty outside Golders Green tube station in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Two men walk in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026, near the scene where two people were recently stabbed in the Golders Green neighbourhood, that has a large Jewish community. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

People look out of a window near the scene where two people were stabbed the previous day in the Golders Green neighbourhood, which has a large Jewish community, in London, Thursday, April 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)