On the first competition day following the opening of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, five gold medals were awarded. Chinese snowboarder Su Yiming won bronze in the men’s big air event, securing the first medal for the Chinese delegation. The first gold medal of the Games was claimed by Swiss alpine skier von Allmen.
In the men’s snowboard big air final, defending champion Su Yiming of China earned the bronze medal with a total score of 168.50 points. After an initial mistake in the qualifiers, Su adjusted and advanced against the odds. In the final, facing successive challenges from a group of Japanese athletes and a home competitor, he ultimately held his nerve to reach the podium. The gold and silver medals in this event were both won by Japanese athletes.
The men’s snowboard big air final took place at the Livigno Snow Park. Chinese athlete Su Yiming won the bronze medal with 168.50 points. This is the first medal for the Chinese delegation at these Winter Games.
In the men’s downhill alpine skiing event held at the Stelvio Ski Center in Bormio, Italy, 24-year-old Swiss skier von Allmen won gold with a time of 1:51.61, edging out home favorites Franzoni and Paris of Italy to claim the first gold medal of the Olympics. Pre-race favorite, Swiss star Odermatt, missed the podium by 0.2 seconds.
The women’s 3000m speed skating final was held in the afternoon. 35-year-old Italian veteran Lollobrigida won the host nation’s first gold medal of the Games with a time of 3:54.28, also breaking the Olympic record set by Dutch skater Schouten at the Beijing Games. Athletes from Norway and Canada won the silver and bronze medals respectively. Dutch star Beune finished fourth, while Chinese skater Yang Binyu placed 17th.
In cross-country skiing, often called the “marathon on snow,” the women’s 10km classic + 10km free skiathlon concluded at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Centre. Swedish skier Karlsson won gold with a time of 53:45.2, with her teammate Andersson taking silver and Norwegian athlete Weng earning bronze. The four Chinese athletes who participated did not finish in the top 50.
In the women’s normal hill individual ski jumping final, Norwegian star Strøm won gold with a total score of 267.3 points. Slovenian jumper Prevc took silver, and Japanese athlete Maruyama placed third. Chinese jumper Zeng Ping finished 15th with 237.3 points, setting the best Olympic result for China in this event. Another Chinese athlete, Liu Qi, placed 26th.
The women’s freeski slopestyle qualification took place at the Livigno Snow Park. Chinese athlete Gu Ailing, the silver medalist in this event at the Beijing Games, qualified for the final in second place after an excellent second run following a mistake in her first. Her teammates Han Linshan and Liu Mengting, both making their Olympic debuts, placed 5th and 11th respectively. Another teammate, Yang Ruyi, scored 42.45 points to place 19th and did not qualify. The final for this event is scheduled for the 9th.
In other events, the first two runs of the men’s singles luge were completed at the Cortina Sliding Centre. German luger Langenhan set consecutive track records to lead the standings. Chinese luger Bao Zhenyu, making his Olympic debut, is currently 24th with a combined time of 1:49.544 after two runs. In the figure skating team event men’s short program, Chinese skater Jin Boyang placed 7th with 84.15 points. The Chinese team finished 8th overall with 14 points and did not advance to the second stage of the competition.
