Italy had plenty to cheer about on Saturday as Giovanni Franzoni powered his way to a memorable silver in the men’s alpine downhill, announcing himself on the Olympic stage with a performance that immediately turned heads.
The result marked a major moment in the young skier’s career, but it also sparked conversation off the slopes for an entirely different reason. As Franzoni’s name began trending, so did an intriguing bit of shared history that links him to tennis superstar Jannik Sinner, whose own sporting journey began far from the tennis court.
Credit: Denis Balibouse/Reuters via Imagn Images
For those who only know Sinner as a tennis superstar, it’s easy to forget that his first serious sport wasn’t played with a racket at all. It was skiing. He was on the slopes almost as soon as he could walk, starting at just 3 years old, and by his early childhood he was already winning junior races, including a giant slalom title. By 12, he was competing at a national level and finishing near the top. His heroes back then weren’t tennis legends but alpine icons like Bode Miller.
Around 13, Sinner made the call to step away from competitive skiing and commit fully to tennis, drawn to the sport’s rhythm and the chance to recover from mistakes during a match. That choice, of course, changed everything.
As the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics unfold, an old footnote has resurfaced. In a 2009 race, a young Sinner actually finished ahead of fellow Italian Giovanni Franzoni, who has claimed Olympic downhill silver.
Franzoni left the start with Swiss skier Franjo von Allmen’s benchmark firmly in sight and looked like a genuine gold contender through the first half of the run. He carried strong pace but ultimately finished just 0.20 seconds behind the Swiss skier, settling for silver while still pushing favorite Marco Odermatt of Switzerland out of second before Italy's Dominik Paris’ run.
Afterward, Franzoni kept things grounded, saying he hopes his performance inspires kids who aren’t fully confident yet, adding that athletes don’t need big egos to succeed. The result also confirmed von Allmen’s rise, as he claimed a gold many had expected would go to Odermatt. Paris snagged the bronze medal.