Host Italy has new skiing star for Olympics and he's gone from tragedy to triumph

Giovanni Franzoni just won the “Super Bowl of skiing.” Soon, he’ll be chasing Olympic gold — on home snow, no less.

The breakout star of the Italian ski team, with the Milan Cortina Winter Games opening next week, Franzoni is quickly coming to grips with his newfound status.

A victory in the downhill on the legendary Streif course in Kitzbühel, Austria, over the weekend — the race described as skiing’s Super Bowl — followed his first World Cup win a week earlier in Wengen, Switzerland.

Franzoni had never even been on the World Cup podium until he finished third in a super-G in Val Gardena last month.

“I didn’t expect to be in this position,” he said. “I knew I could do well but there’s a big difference between believing it and doing it. Now I’m trying to handle it all — the media attention, the physical part, the mental part … I just want to enjoy the Olympics. I know that I can do well, so I don’t see any reason to heap expectations onto myself.”

Franzoni, after all, isn’t skiing just for himself. He’s also racing in memory of his former roommate and teammate, Matteo Franzoso, who died after a crash in preseason training in Chile in September that opened a debate on safety in the sport.

When Franzoni won in Kitzbühel, he looked to up the sky on the winner’s podium and dedicated the victory to Franzoso, who he had shared a room with at the Austrian resort a year earlier on his first trip to the Hahnenkamm event.

“I made a promise to someone in paradise,” Franzoni said. “It’s a mix of emotions that I have a hard time describing.”

Franzoni’s victory Saturday relegated overall World Cup leader Marco Odermatt to second place, and left the Swiss standout in tears on the podium after again failing to win the Kitzbühel downhill.

“I was almost upset seeing him like that,” Franzoni said. "I understand how much he wanted to win that race and how many years he’s been fighting for it. But I don’t think it’s a tragedy for him, considering all the races he’s won.”

Odermatt won the super-G in Kitzbühel on Friday for a second year. But he’s been racing in “Kitz” for eight years; whereas Franzoni won the Kitzbühel downhill on his second try, at age 24.

Unlike many professional skiers, Franzoni did not grow up in the mountains.

He comes from Manerba del Garda on the shore of Lake Garda near the city of Brescia.

But he and his twin brother, Alessandro, quickly took to skiing at nearby Ponte di Legno and Madonna di Campiglio.

While his brother eventually stopped competing and became a ski instructor instead, Giovanni showed his promise by claiming three golds, a silver and a bronze at the world junior championships in 2021 and 2022.

Franzoni’s rise was slowed, though, when he had a season-ending fall in a super-G at Wengen in 2023 that resulted in thigh surgery.

Now he’s catching back up to skiers like Franjo von Allmen, the Swiss racer who is the same age and won the world title in downhill last year.

When Franzoni won gold in the downhill at the junior worlds in Panorama, British Columbia, in 2022, Von Allmen finished second.

While it’s a three-hour drive away, Franzoni’s hometown of Manerba is located in the same region (Lombardy) as Bormio, where men’s skiing at the Olympics will be contested.

Franzoni has never finished better than 17th in World Cup races held in Bormio. But he’s clearly aiming for much higher now.

A victory in the men’s downhill on the first full day of the Olympics, Feb. 7, would make him the first Italian man to claim the prestigious honor since Zeno Colò took gold 74 years ago at the 1952 Oslo Games.

What’s more is that Franzoni can become only the fourth skier to win the Kitzbühel and Olympic downhills in the same year after Toni Sailer in 1956, Franz Klammer in 1976 and Beat Feuz in 2022.

As a junior racer, Franzoni was once beaten by tennis standout and former youth skier Jannik Sinner.

While they didn’t know each other back then, Franzoni and Sinner recently got in touch.

“I wrote him on Instagram after news of that old race came out. He complimented me and encouraged me a lot and even gave me his phone number,” Franzoni said. “The fact that he wrote me means I must have done something big.”

For the record, Sinner won that 2009 giant slalom in San Sicario for racers born in 2001 and Franzoni finished 12th, four seconds behind.

Now, Sinner and Franzoni are both winning.

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

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Wengen, Switzerland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt celebrates his second place in a men's alpine ski World Cup downhill, in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

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)

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni speeds down the course during a men's alpine ski World Cup downhill, in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Italy's Giovanni Franzoni celebrates on podium winning a men's alpine ski World Cup downhill, in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Easter is around the corner, and it's time to start thinking about how to decorate your eggs.

Whether you're dying eggs for your table spread or planning to hide them for an egg hunt, it's important to follow food safety guidelines to minimize germs and maximize your egg quality.

Eggs are remarkably long lasting, so there needn't be a giant rush to eat them.

“Stores usually do turn over eggs pretty quickly, so the recommendations is you should consume eggs three to five weeks after you purchase them,” said Kara Lynch, food safety educator with Michigan State University Extension.

There is also a benefit in letting eggs age just a bit, as older eggs can be easier to peel. That's because eggs shrink over time within the shell, creating an air pocket between the egg and the shell.

Egg processors clean eggs before they reach store shelves, but it also is important to thoroughly cook eggs to reduce the risk of foodborne illness, especially salmonella. That bacteria lives naturally in the gastrointestinal and reproductive tracts of chickens, said Kimberly Baker, associate extension specialist at Clemson University.

To cook your eggs, place them in a saucepan, fill it with water and bring it to a boil. After that, put the lid on, turn the heat off and let it sit for about 12 minutes. Some also favor turning down the heat and simmering eggs.

You can vary the time in the hot water depending on a desire for harder boiled or slightly creamier eggs, but the yolk should be pretty solid to be safe. Boiling them for too long can risk creating green sulfur development on the outside of the yolk.

After that, Don Schaffner, food science department chair at Rutgers University, said there are two options.

You can run your eggs under cold water to reduce the temperature. From there, you can color them right away or place them back in the fridge until you're ready. Or, after you've boiled them, you can let them air dry until they've cooled.

The boiling process sanitizes the eggs, and as long as they are kept out of water, Schaffner said, they will remain safe to eat.

“You’ve boiled the egg, you’ve gotten rid of any bacteria that might be in the egg. And now you’ve air-cooled it, right? So it’s going to cool more slowly, it’s probably going to cook more,” he said. “But most importantly, you don’t have to worry about any bacteria from the water getting internalized into the egg.”

Either artificial or natural food dye is OK as long as the dye label says it's food grade. For those keeping track, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been updating its guidance and regulations regarding certain dyes.

And no, it's not a problem if the dye seeps through the shell.

“Eggs kind of naturally have their own abilities to absorb only so much,” Baker said.

As you're decorating the eggs and have the eggs outside, she suggested keeping your eggs in an ice bath, so they can stay at a cooler temperature while you're decorating.

Eggs should generally be kept at or below 40 degrees (4.4 degrees Celsius) to minimize the risk of contaminants.

Cooked eggs that weren't air-cooled should spend no more than two hours at room temperature. And that's cumulative, including the time spent decorating and the time spent hiding during the Easter egg hunt.

But if it's particularly warm, then that two-hour rule may be shortened to one hour, Lynch said.

Hard boiled eggs are generally good for about a week in the fridge.

Be careful with your eggs as you handle them.

One of the biggest concerns is making sure your eggs haven't cracked during an Easter egg hunt, making them vulnerable to contaminants. And once the egg has been hard boiled, there's no way to kill bacteria that get inside, Baker said.

“We don’t want to be putting them in the soil or in lawns where pets have gone to the bathroom,” she said.

Whether the eggs are hidden outdoors or in a corner of your home, you should rinse them in cool water before you peel them. And wash your hands, too, just in case the eggs have picked up something.

If the Easter egg hunt means your eggs will be at room temperature for longer than two hours, experts recommended using plastic eggs for the hunt instead of real ones to minimize food safety risk.

“If it’s an outdoor Easter egg hunt at any time, I would say go with the plastic eggs and be safe,” Baker said. “And use your dyed Easter eggs as your centerpiece on your table or your buffet, and enjoy them that way.”

FILE - Painted Easter eggs hang from an Easter Tree in Saalfeld, central Germany, March 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Jens Meyer, File)