"On a beautiful day in Bornio, the 24-year-old dominated a challenging course to win in 1:min 51.61sec and take the first medal of these Olympic Games. That time was good enough to withstand Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, who finished with the silver medal 0.20sec back. Another Italian, Dominik Paris, who is vocalist of a heavy metal band called Rise of Voltage, claimed bronze."
"It feels like a movie, not really real, Von Allmen said. I can't tell you what it means to me. For now, can you imagine doing better at the Olympics? When asked about the secret to his success he said: Try to enjoy skiing, really,. I was relaxed in the morning and tried to keep the good feelings from the training, tried to fit all the pieces together from the training and just have fun."
"Von Allmen, who became the youngest downhill world champion in 36 years last year, has done it the hard way. At 17, his father died and he had to crowdfund in order to continue skiing, before making the Swiss squad a year later. Unlike other racers who attend ski academies, he had to work, in his case on construction sites, in the summer. That experience not only helped his wallet, but built his physique and his character."
Franjo von Allmen won the Olympic men's downhill on a sunny day in Bornio with a time of 1:51.61, taking the first medal of the Games. Giovanni Franzoni of Italy finished 0.20 seconds behind to win silver, while Dominik Paris earned bronze. Von Allmen described the moment as surreal and said he could not tell what it meant to him. He attributed success to enjoying skiing, staying relaxed, and retaining positive training feelings. Von Allmen became the youngest downhill world champion in 36 years and overcame his father's death at 17, crowdfunding to continue and working construction summers, which strengthened his physique and character.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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