Marco Odermatt left Milano Cortina 2026 with three medals but no gold. The Swiss skier took silver in the giant slalom, silver in the team combined and bronze in the super-G. He arrived in Bormio as the favourite in three disciplines.
Three medals in Bormio, and the one that got away
The giant slalom was decided on the Stelvio course, with snow falling and fog settling in. Odermatt sat second after the first run, behind Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.
His second run was close to perfect. He crossed with a fist pump, 0.59 seconds ahead of pace, yet it was not enough. Braathen held on for gold, beating him by 0.58 seconds over the two runs.
An Olympic champion who this time settled for silver
Four years earlier, Odermatt won giant slalom gold at Beijing 2022, holding off Zan Kranjec by 0.19 seconds in heavy snow. In March 2026 he clinched a fifth straight overall World Cup title, second only to Marcel Hirscher on the all-time list. In Bormio he also finished fourth in the downhill, just outside the medals.
His teammate Loic Meillard took bronze in the same giant slalom, keeping two Swiss skiers on the podium. Braathen became the first athlete to win an Olympic giant slalom medal for South America.
"If you're not satisfied with three medals, then you have a problem," Odermatt told Reuters afterwards. "Of course it would have been nice to have a gold medal, but I have one at home, and that's why this is now a nice collection."
He leaves Bormio still an Olympic champion, with a broader medal haul than ever before.
