Swiss breakout star Franjo von Allmen took a surprise downhill title at the 2025 FIS World Alpine Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria on Sunday (9 February).
While the Swiss were fancied for the medals, the likes of defending champion Marco Odermatt and Bormio World Cup winner Alexis Monney were favoured over the World Championship debutant.
However, it 23-year-old von Allmen who was pumping his fist to celebrate his first major downhill victory after three World Cup podium finishes this season. He also won the Wengen Super G last month.
Austrian veteran Vincent Kriechmayr was 0.24 seconds behind in second with Monney a further seven-hundredths adrift.
After his 12th in the Super G, von Allmen had a shaky top section but more than made up for it with a blistering bottom half on the 3,129m-long track to overhaul Kriechmayr.
Seeing his time, von Allmen let out a scream in the finish area in front of enthusiastic Swiss spectators clad before settling into the leader’s chair for the remainder of the competition.
Having just missed out on the Super G podium, 2021 world champion Kriechmayr used his local knowledge to good effect with an aggressive but smooth descent down the piste. Despite struggling in downhill so far this season, the 33-year-old completed a full set of downhill medals after taking bronze in 2019.
Monney failed to finish the Super G and look in danger of another DNF as he attacked the course with abandon. Wearing start bib number eight, the risk paid off as he took the lead by more than a second before being overtaken by Kriechmayr and teammate von Allmen. The 25-year-old held on for bronze and a first World Championship medal.
Fellow Swiss Odermatt dropped into the course fresh from his Super G triumph on Friday. A scrappy top section cost him valuble time, and he was left shaking his head in the finish area as he ended up 0.66 off the pace in fifth.
More to follow…
