Skiers representing Italy, the host nation, continued their quest to secure starting positions by leading the second downhill training session at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics on Thursday. During the session, Austria’s Daniel Hemetsberger experienced a crash.
Mattia Casse recorded the fastest time but missed a gate halfway down the course. His teammates Florian Schieder and Giovanni Franzoni claimed the second and third positions, respectively.
Franzoni, a standout performer from the Italian team who recently triumphed in the downhill event in Kitzbuhel, Austria, has already secured a starting spot. Also, Dominik Paris, who holds the Bormio record with seven World Cup victories, has a confirmed spot. The trio of Casse, Schieder, and Christof Innerhofer, who finished seventh, are competing for the remaining two spots.
Among the Canadian participants, Cam Alexander from North Vancouver, B.C., finished as the top Canadian in 10th place. Jack Crawford from Toronto secured the 22nd spot, Brodie Seger from North Vancouver placed 24th, Jeff Read from Canmore, Alta., finished in 29th place, and Riley Seger from North Vancouver came in 32nd.
Notable contenders like Marco Odermatt and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, the American who led the initial session on Wednesday, selectively tested sections of the Stelvio course and spent most of the time in an upright stance rather than the tuck position.
Hemetsberger encountered a mishap during his run, losing control midway, crashing through a gate causing his helmet to come off, and eventually hitting the safety nets at a high speed. Despite the fall, he quickly got back on his feet, though he appeared to be holding his face and nose.
A final training session is set for Friday before the downhill competition on Saturday, which will determine the first alpine skiing medal of the Games.
