02/19/26 07:47:00
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02/19 07:45 CST Ski mountaineering makes Olympic debut on snowy day as Marianne
Fatton of Switzerland wins 1st gold
Ski mountaineering makes Olympic debut on snowy day as Marianne Fatton of
Switzerland wins 1st gold
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
BORMIO, Italy (AP) --- The sport of ski mountaineering made its long-awaited
Olympics debut Thursday and crowned its first champion at the Milan Cortina
Games in Marianne Fatton of Switzerland.
With snow falling, Fatton navigated the uphill-then-downhill sprint course
lined with a diamond-shaped pattern and stairs in a lung-searing time of 2
minutes, 59.77 seconds. She edged Emily Harrop of France by 2.38 seconds. Ana
Alonso Rodriguez of Spain took bronze as she competed on a torn ACL.
In the men's sprint race, Oriol Cardona Coll of Spain cruised to the win.
Nikita Filippov finished with the silver, becoming the first individual neutral
athlete to earn a medal in Italy. Thibault Anselmet of France captured bronze.
Ski mountaineering, which is called "skimo" for short, was voted into the
Olympic program in 2021. The falling snow provided a fitting backdrop for a
niche Alpine sport that traces its roots back to the late 19th century.
This particular gold medal carried a lot of weight given the stakes. Fatton
claims the coveted title of "first ever" to earn an Olympic title in their
sport. Cardona Coll wasn't far behind as the men's race was staged 20 minutes
later.
It took enduring three rounds that last about three or so minutes each that
stressed their endurance levels.
Fatton had a quick transition from the uphill portion of the course into the
downhill section, which paved the way to her gold medal. Her mom, Anna
Janouskova, competed for Czechia in cross-country skiing at the 1992 Winter
Games in Albertville, France.
Just being in front of the crowd was a special moment for skimo athletes.
"Standing in the start and seeing the Olympic rings on the hillside got really
real," said American Anna Gibson, who made it to the semifinal round.
The course made for entertaining theater, resembling almost a snow park of
assorted obstacles.
First, the athletes weaved their way through a diamond-shaped pattern before
taking off their skis to climb the steps in their ski boots, storing their skis
in a backpack. They put them back on for another sprint to the top.
Upon reaching the summit of the course, athletes hopped in the air to rip off
their "skins," pieces of fabric on the bottom of the skis that allow athletes
to hurry uphill. After that, it was all downhill from there as they flew along
the Stelvio course toward the finish line.
The individual sprints were set up in a bracket-style format. The top finishers
keep advancing until they reach the final, which consists of six athletes.
It's been a tough road for Alonso Rodriguez just to get to the start line. In
September, she was seriously hurt when hit by a car while training on her
bike."There were times when I thought I was not going to make it," she said.
"I've focused on taking it step-by-step."
The final skimo event is a mixed team relay on Saturday.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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