WALDRON GRAIN & FUEL

02/19 09:06 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. "It's a magical day," said Fatton, who's also the reigning world champion. "It's history for our sport, and for us as athletes, and it's wonderful." 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. "I think the show today was pretty special," Harrop said. "There was a lot of suspense." 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. Asked how the gold medal felt around his neck, Cardona Coll simply laughed: "It feels heavy." "There was a lot of pressure," he said of being the favorite. "I'm relaxed now." Filippov, too, was feeling the pressure. "In the social media, they said, 'Nikita Filippov, it's very important day today for us, because there is no medal, and he is our hope. Main hope,'" Filippov recounted. "I was telling myself, ?Just relax, Nikita. Do your thing and a medal will come.'" He acknowledged the difficulty of not celebrating his country. "It's OK," said Filippov, who had friends in the stands. "Everybody knows from what country I am. I'm just happy to be here and to have realized my child dream." It took enduring three rounds that last about three or so minutes each that stressed their endurance levels. Fatton had quick transitions, 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. ___ AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics