What we're covering
• Events today: Curling, speed skating and ice hockey are among the events lined up on Day 1.
• First gold medal: Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen won the men’s downhill to win Milan Cortina’s first gold. Italians Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris won silver and bronze, respectively.
• Lindsey Vonn does it again: The US star skied even faster than Friday, completing today’s run without issue in a time of one minute and 38.28 seconds. This all despite having “completely ruptured” her ACL on January 30.
• Latest news: CNN Sports has the latest chatter from the Winter Olympics and incredible stories of athletic achievement. Click here to sign up for the newsletter.
Lindsey Vonn's ready for the women's downhill final, according to her coach
All that’s left now to do is race.
Lindsey Vonn completed her second training run with relative ease, turning in a time of 1:38.28, which stood third until training was paused because of weather. As she exited the finish area, the 41-year-old gave a small fist pump. Not so emphatic. More like, “OK, that’s done.’’
Vonn didn’t speak after the race – she did stop to give teammate Breezy Johnson a shoulder squeeze and say, “Good run” - but her coach said Vonn left in good shape and good spirits. Aksel Lund Svindal chatted briefly post-race with Vonn. She said nothing about her knee, and he wasn’t about to ask. “I’ve learned, when she’s calm that means she feels like she is under control,’’ he said.
Vonn did give her coach and teammate a little bit of a worry when she landed awkwardly on one jump, her injured left knee pushing in a bit.
“I mean, I watched her knee kind of cave in off of one of those rolls,’’ Johnson said. “And I think everybody kind of gasped a little bit obviously, but you know, it’s, it’s how it goes.’’ Svindal said that is perhaps the only sign of Vonn’s torn ACL.
Still the coach was glad that she opted for the second day of training, even though she didn’t need it to qualify for the final.
The conditions were markedly improved from Friday, when Johnson said the course felt like “soap,’’ and it was good for Vonn to ski something that will be far more akin go race conditions.
He expects her go all out in tomorrow’s downhill final, and that anyone who thinks Vonn is merely happy to be here should reassess their expectations.
Asked how he would describe her physical strength, Svindal smiled, “Good enough to win this race, hopefully. But her mental strength, that’s why she has won as much as she has. And also she has some experience now being 41 years old. I think that’s what she needs to bring out tomorrow, all of her experience and her mental strength, I hope.’’
How a generation of Olympic women proved motherhood isn't the end of a gold medal dream
The message Kendall Coyne Schofield posted on her social media was not terribly difficult to decipher.
A framed blackboard propped in front of Schofield’s two dogs, Penny and Blue, spelled out the message: “Baby Schofield Coming Summer 2023.” The dogs wore matching big sister bandanas in case something somehow got lost in translation.
Yet along with the congratulations to Schofield and her husband, Michael, came a rather puzzling rejoinder.
“A lot of people said, ‘Hey, congratulations on a great career,’” Coyne Schofield said at the Olympics media summit in October. “I was like, ‘Wait. I didn’t announce my retirement.’”
It is a uniquely female athlete’s quandary, the presumption that parenthood means the end of competition. Athletes-turned-dads return to their sport with a shrug, with nary a raised eyebrow about how they might juggle it all. Yet somehow – through the feminism movement to the “You’ve come a long way, baby” campaign to the birth and eventual seismic growth in women’s professional sports – sports-star moms, not unlike those in the working world, still face the same age-old questions.
Read more about these women here.
How do you order a coffee in Italy?
Given our teams in the field must be cold – and you too if you’re in northern Italy for these Games – you must be looking for a hot beverage to warm up. And what better than one of Italy’s famed coffees – but how do you order one the right way?
You begin with the easy part, finding a shop that sells coffee. Once you enter, there’s no formal queue. Instead, you will have to try your hardest to catch the barista’s eye.
After that incredibly awkward task is complete, open with a greeting like “bongiorno,” which is “hello” in Italian.
Now, the important part. “Un caffè” is an espresso, “macchiato” is an espresso with a spoonful of hot and foamy milk. DO NOT ask for a latte, otherwise you will end up with a glass full of milk. Instead, for what you are used to as a latte, ask for a “latte macchiato” and your order shall be served.
Fortunately, to save you the stress, cappuccino is pronounced the same in English as it is in Italian.
If you didn’t pay at the start, you can exchange the money on your way out. With that, the ritual is complete, you are now fully set to engage in one of Italy’s proudest traditions.
Switzerland’s Franjo von Allmen wins first gold medal of the 2026 Winter Games
There we have it, Franjo von Allmen has won the first gold medal of the Winter Olympics after Ireland’s Cormac Comerford failed to beat the leading time in the last run of the men’s downhill event.
Huge cheers from the crowd as its officially confirmed the Swiss skier wins in a time of one minute and 51.61 seconds.
“Feels kind of like a movie, not really real,” von Allmen said after his win.
While Switzerland won gold, it was a strong showing from host nation Italy, which claimed both the silver and bronze medal.
Giovanni Franzoni finished second in a time of 1:51.81, while Dominik Paris ended third in 1:52.11.
Fog delays in Cortina for the women's downhill training
Back in Cortina, we have been in an extended delay here at women’s downhill training.
Really foggy and heavy snow at the starting gates. We are about halfway through the skiers.
An American has already made history at the Winter Olympics
Laila Edwards has already made history in Milan after becoming the first Black woman to feature in the US hockey team at a Winter Games.
Edwards made history when she took the ice at the Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on Thursday, where she helped Team USA beat the Czech Republic 5-1 in its first preliminary round match.
“It means a lot. I take a lot of pride in it,” she told reporters after stepping off the ice in Milan.
“I’m just going to embrace it because representation matters, no matter how uncomfortable it can be. It’s for the next generation.
“I could not do interviews and not talk about it, but then the story doesn’t get out there. Maybe a little girl doesn’t see me, who looks like her. That’s what’s really important.”
Read more about Edwards’ life and career here, including how the Kelce brothers have helped her family.
Fans start to leave the venue, thinking they've already seen the winner
The way the downhill event works means we’ve already seen the favorites perform their runs and some fans have seen enough.
Spectators have started to stream out of the venue, assuming Franjo von Allmen has wrapped up the gold medal already.
In truth, they are probably right, unless someone pulls off an incredible surprise.
Someone has now been given the job to keep the energy up in the crowd and is encouraging everyone to start dancing to the music.
The full-throttle, breathtaking sport that’s missing from the Winter Olympics
While these downhill skiers are hitting speeds of up to 85 mph – unfathomable for the laymen like you and I – they pale in comparison to a sport which isn’t at the Winter Olympics: speed skiing.
In fact, speed skiing has only ever been a demonstration event at the Games, wowing audiences at the 1992 Olympics. There are hopes, though, it could feature for real at the next Winter Olympics in 2030.
CNN Sports spoke to the world record holder Simon Billy, who was clocked traveling at 255.500 km/h (158.760 mph) in 2023.
“When I am in my helmet, on my skis, at that moment, everything is just so slow around me. I hear nothing. I don’t see anything either,” he says.
“You have to watch your feet and trust yourself. You have to know the track, and you have to be able to ski down and take the good line.”
Read more about the sport of speed skiing here.
Franjo von Allmen sitting pretty with roughly 15 skiers to go
Franjo von Allmen is sitting in the leader’s seat at the end of the course, skis by his side, poles in his hands and helmet in his lap as he watches the remaining competitors come down the hill.
Wrapped up in a black jacket and wooly black hat, you have to think that he won’t be keeping that seat warm for anyone else but himself.
He just received a warm embrace from his nearest rival Giovanni Franzoni, dressed all in white along with some dapper black shades. The two of them are chatting away, no doubt reflecting on the prospect of medals coming their way very soon.
Eileen Gu through to women's freeski slopestyle final after fall in 1st run
Far away in the Livigno Snow Park, a bit of early concern from the fans as 2022 women’s freeski slopestyle silver medalist Eileen Gu fell in her first run, putting her qualification for the final into doubt.
But the two-time Olympic gold medalist cruises through her second run with a score of 75.30 to make it to the final.
Phew.
Temperature has dramatically dropped in Bormio as downhill event continues
What started off as a perfect weather day in the mountains has suddenly taken a turn. The sun has now hidden behind the clouds and the temperature has plummeted.
People were in T-shirts about 20 minutes ago, now it’s time for hats, scarves and winter coats.
The energy, though, is still high.
Italy out of the running for men's downhill gold
The host nation’s hopes of winning gold here have gone.
Italians Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris were hotly tipped as contenders for the crown, but despite initially making inroads into Franjo von Allmen’s time during their runs, they ultimately came up just short.
The duo currently sits in second and third place.
Can anyone stop the Swiss sensation from claiming gold at his maiden Olympics? It doesn’t look like it, but you never know…
Current men's downhill leader Franjo von Allmen has a sausage named after him
He may be leading the men’s downhill at the moment, but Franjo von Allmen has already made a name for himself.
After making his debut in 2023, the Swiss youngster has become one of the best skiers in the world and he’s been recognized in his hometown of Boltigen, which has named a sausage – the Silberblitz-Wurscht (or “Silver Lightning Sausage”) – after him.
According to Olympics.com, if you want to eat the “Franjo wurst,” it will set you back roughly $15.44 per pound.
Lindsey Vonn’s mental fortitude in her most unlikely Olympic Games
Lindsey Vonn, swaddled in her Team USA parka, sat down in front of a microphone in a press room in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and calmly detailed how, a few days earlier, she had obliterated her left knee.
“I completely ruptured my ACL. I also have bone bruising, which is a common injury when you tear your ACL, plus some meniscal damage,’’ she said with near clinical detachment.
And then with equal deliberateness and calm, Vonn explained how she intends to ski in Sunday’s Olympic downhill competition – on a left knee with a severed ligament, and a right knee reconstructed in titanium.
The two things do not go together. Or should not go together. Torquing and turning down a mountain at 85 miles per hour without an ACL – its sole anatomical purpose is to connect the femur to the tibia and protect the bones from shifting – is, at best, not recommended and, at worst, slightly reckless.
Except to express surprise that the 2010 Olympic gold medalist is even considering this would be to misunderstand Lindsey Vonn in her entirety. She has made a career of taking risks and defying logic, her shredded body the victim of her determination.
This is not her first ACL tear. It is her third, to go along with a fractured ankle, knee, humerus, microfractures in her forearm, tibial fractures in her leg, a torn LCL, two torn MCLs and an acute facet dysfunction of her back – better known as debilitating spasms brought on by trauma.
Since she first popped her boots into a pair of bindings, Vonn has known one speed: Go.
She is not about to stop now.
Read more about Vonn’s improbable comeback here.
Swiss domination so far in the men's downhill final
The Switzerland fans next to us are in seventh heaven right now. It’s currently a Swiss top-3 leading the way in the men’s downhill with young gun Franjo von Allmen topping the leaderboard after a blistering run.
The 24-year-old raised his skis to the jubilant fans as he crossed the finish line in a time of one minute and 51.61 seconds.
Can anyone break up the Swiss monopoly?
Lindsey Vonn cruises through second training run
Lindsey Vonn eased through her second training run without issue in a time of one minute and 38.28 seconds and looks ready for Sunday’s medal event.
My colleague Dana O’Neil tells me from Cortina d’Ampezzo that Vonn had a slight bobble toward the end, but she’s faster than she was yesterday, capping off the training run with a fist bump.
CNN’s Dana O’Neil contributed to this post.
Men's downhill gets underway with opening runs
We’ve had our first three runs of the competition, with Austria’s Daniel Hemetsberger currently leading, but we have a long way to go.
The speed is truly something else when you witness it up close.
The athletes finish the course with a small jump as they approach the grandstand where they are greeted by all the excited fans.
Stelvio's challenging course beckons
The Stelvio Ski Centre slope is a regular feature on the World Cup ski circuit and, as the PA has reminded us, it’s not a hill for the faint-hearted!
It’s one of the most challenging courses on the planet, stretching 3.5 km (slightly over two miles) with a descent of over 1,000m and skiers speeds hitting 100 kph (about 62 mph). It’s going to be a nervy ride for the 36 skiers lined up to take on the challenge.
One factor that could play a role today is the timing of the event. It’s usually held in the bleak, frigid month of December but today the course basks in glorious February sunshine.
Let’s see what it has in store for us.
Drones buzzing at max speeds down the slopes too
As I wait for the women’s downhill training here in Cortina – and Lindsey Vonn to make her second training run of these Games – I’ve been mesmerized by the tiny drone that zips up and down the mountain here, following skiers on their runs.
If skiers are going 85 mph, that thing is going 100. As soon as it gets to the bottom, it turns around and flies back up.
Fans cram into Bormio to watch the men's downhill
A sold out crowd of around 7,000 people was expected to watch the men’s downhill today according to Reuters and it certainly seems that way.
A long line of spectators are making their way up the slope like a line of lemmings to find a vantage point.
The stand where we are sitting is almost full and is rocking with fans jumping in unison to the music.
The drink of choice among fans is a bottle of beer with a lime wedge in the top. I’m totally not jealous. Not. At. All.
