Ireland's Cormac Comerford finished Saturday's Olympic downhill in last position of skiers who finished the race but he was still happy with his Games debut on one of the world's toughest downhill slopes.
Going last of the competitors, Glenageary native Comerford held his composure well to complete thew course, clocking a time of 2:04.40.
"I'm sure everyone at home is buzzing, I've been getting so many messages," Comerford said.
The 29-year-old finally made his dreams of competing in the Olympics come true after three previous attempts, supported by crowd-funding when the cost of safety equipment became too much for him.
After a fall on Wednesday's training run on the treacherous Stelvio slope, Comerford said he was relieved to have made it down in one piece on race day.
"My debut on the Stelvio, I'll take it," he said, "I'm really happy with how I managed these four days with the training, the official training, and the race today. It wasn't the perfect run, but I can be pleased overall."
Comerford is set to race in three more events at Milano Cortina with the super-G next up on Wednesday before the slalom, his preferred discipline.
"I'll be pushing hard to try and gain some places in the slalom. Top 30 will be a big achievement for me," he said.
A time of 2:04.40 for @cormaccomerford in the men's alpine skiing downhill #rtesport #TeamIreland #MilanoCortina2026 pic.twitter.com/S2RsJCq6gR
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 7, 2026
Franjo von Allmen dashed Italian hopes and those of his all-conquering team-mate Marco Odermatt as he roared to victory in the men's downhill in Bormio in a time of 1:51.61.
Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris both led briefly down the fearsome Stelvio course but had to settle for silver and bronze medals respectively, clocking times of 1:51.81 and 1:52.11.
Odermatt, a four-time defending overall World Cup champion, started as a strong favourite and led the field as he looked to claim his first Olympic downhill title.
But ultimately it was Von Allmen, a 24-year-old with just four World Cup downhill wins to his name, who clocked the winning time. Ireland's Comerford was some 12 seconds behind.
