Loïc Meillard / GEPA pictures
The final men’s alpine race of the Milan/Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games ended in heartbreak and triumph within seconds. Loïc Meillard won Olympic slalom gold after first-run leader Atle Lie McGrath straddled in the opening sector of his second run, abruptly ending Norway’s gold hopes and sealing a Swiss masterclass to close the Games.
Top Five – Olympic Slalom Results
- 🥇 🇨🇭 Loïc Meillard (SUI, 1996) — 1:53.61
- 🥈 🇦🇹 Fabio Gstrein (AUT, 1997) — +0.35
- 🥉 🇳🇴 Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR, 1994) — +1.13
- 🇳🇴 Timon Haugan (NOR, 1996) — +1.42
- 🇧🇪 Armand Marchant (BEL, 1997) — +2.00
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BORMIO, ITALY, 16.FEB.26 – OLYMPICS, ALPINE SKIING – Fabio Gstrein (AUT), Loic Meillard (SUI) and Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR). Keywords: medal. Photo: GEPA pictures/ Vegard Grott
First Run Chaos Sets the Stage
The opening run fractured the field.
More than 50 skiers failed to finish, and two of the top seven starters were eliminated. The hill itself was not overwhelming. Instead, Olympic pressure and a tight, aggressive set proved decisive.
McGrath led after Run 1 in 56.73. Meillard trailed by 0.59. Austria placed three men inside the top nine. The podium fight remained compressed — but fragile.
Seven Straight Lead Changes
The second run opened in dramatic fashion.
Through the first 15 starters, the leader’s chair changed hands seven consecutive times. Every new competitive racer assumed control before surrendering it moments later.
Japan’s Shiro Aihara dropped a major time. Spain’s Joaquim Salarich Baucells immediately responded. France’s Steven Amiez then established a true benchmark with a 57.41 second run.
Dave Ryding, 39, in his final Olympic appearance, briefly seized the lead by 0.11 over Amiez. The volatility only intensified.
By the time the fastest eight from Run 1 began, Switzerland’s Tanguy Nef held the lead. The medal race had arrived.
The Elite Break and Respond
Clément Noël, the reigning Olympic champion, was first among the final eight. His defense ended when he straddled a vertical hairpin early in Run 2.
Austria’s Marco Schwarz came within 0.16 of the lead but fell short, leaving his nation with one remaining medal hope.
Then Henrik Kristoffersen shifted the tone.
Sixth from the first run and outside the provisional podium, the Norwegian veteran attacked and crossed 0.89 ahead of Tanguy Nef, taking control of the race with four skiers remaining.
For the first time, the leader’s chair stabilized.
Armand Marchant followed but could not match the pace, finishing 0.87 behind Kristoffersen. Belgium’s first Olympic alpine medal would wait.
Timon Haugan, who had carried a 0.63 first-run advantage over Kristoffersen, lost that margin quickly and crossed 0.29 back. Kristoffersen’s medal position strengthened.
Kristoffersen Returns to the Podium
Henrik Kristoffersen’s second run changed the race.
Sixth fastest from the first run and outside the provisional podium, the Norwegian veteran delivered a 57.73 second run that found crucial time through the middle sectors. He crossed 0.89 ahead of Nef and ultimately secured bronze — his third Olympic medal across four Games.
“A little bittersweet with Atle skiing out in the second run, but that’s our sport,” Kristoffersen said. “I’ve been there. I was there eight years ago. I led after the first run and I skied out. That’s part of the game. Of course, I was here for gold. I think I am good enough for the gold.”
He added, “I didn’t feel good the whole run, to be honest. But to get a bronze medal on a bad day is not a bad day.”
Austria Saved
Fabio Gstrein entered under immense national pressure.
Austria, historically an alpine powerhouse, had yet to secure an individual men’s medal at these Games. Gstrein began with a 0.65 advantage over Kristoffersen and delivered the run of his career.
He was precise through the flats, aggressive in transition, and gained crucial time in the middle split. Despite giving up small fractions in the final sector, he crossed 0.78 ahead of Kristoffersen.
Austria was guaranteed a medal. The pride of a nation was restored.
“The feelings are great,” Gstrein said. “It’s really nice that I made a medal. I was in the start gate and in my head, you have to go green light over the finish line and there is a medal for you in there. It was a really nice feeling when I saw the light coming up, and it was worth it.”
He added, “I knew I’m fast down here and last week in the slalom there were two or three little mistakes. Today everything went pretty well. I knew I’m very fast when everything comes good and well, and today with the silver medal it’s like a dream come true.”
Swiss Precision Decides Gold
Meillard was next.
Already a bronze medalist in giant slalom and tied silver medalist in the Team Combined, he was chasing a third medal of these Games.
His run was measured and clinical. He gained time early, extended his margin through the mid-course compression, and held firm despite minor losses in the final sector.
He crossed 0.35 ahead of Gstrein.
Gold was suddenly within reach.
Meillard: “Something You Dream as a Kid”
After securing gold, Meillard struggled to process the moment.
“No,” he said when asked if it had sunk in. “It was definitely a dream. Something I worked harder the last few weeks to achieve. The goal was to leave the Olympics with three medals, three races, and to leave with a gold in slalom — that’s how I can describe it.”
The 29-year-old admitted the start gate tested him.
“It was tough because mentally you think about that,” he said. “But you try to focus back on what you have to do to achieve it. It can happen, but focus back on how you ski, how you have to do it, and focus on the way down. That’s what I did. So I’m super happy.”
For Meillard, the medal hat trick — bronze, silver and now gold — fulfilled a lifelong ambition.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges,” he said. “Something you dream as a kid. To make it happen, it’s unbelievable.”
BORMIO, ITALY,16.FEB.26 – OLYMPICS, First Run Leader Atle Lie McGrath (NOR). Photo: GEPA pictures/ Vegard Grott
McGrath’s Heartbreak
All that remained with Meillard in the lead was McGrath.
The 25-year-old World Cup slalom leader had carried redemption hopes after Beijing disappointment and a fifth-place finish in giant slalom earlier in Bormio.
But in the opening sector of his second run, he straddled and was eliminated.
He screamed in frustration on the slope before climbing over the fence, walking toward the trees and eventually lying down in the snow at the side of the trail.
The Olympic slalom was decided.
Meillard stood atop the podium. Gstrein secured silver. Kristoffersen returned to the Olympic podium with bronze — his third Olympic medal across four Games.
The men’s Olympic alpine program closed in dramatic fashion.
Swiss Dominance
Three Swiss men leave Milan/Cortina with three medals each, and Switzerland claimed nearly every men’s alpine gold medal at these Games — a remarkable display of depth and skill across disciplines.
Meillard’s gold marked his third medal of Milan/Cortina 2026. The Swiss depth, discipline, and tactical excellence defined the men’s Olympics.
Great Britain
- 🇬🇧 Billy Major (GBR, 1996) — 16th
- 🇬🇧 Dave Ryding (GBR, 1986) — 17th
Ryding, competing in his fifth and final Olympic Games, briefly led the second run in a stirring moment before finishing 17th overall.
The most successful British alpine skier in history, Ryding’s seven World Cup podiums — including his historic Kitzbühel victory — elevated the profile of British skiing globally and drew sustained media attention to the GBR program.
His retirement at season’s end marks the close of a transformative era.
Major skied solidly but finished just outside the valuable top 15.
Race Results
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Top Three and GBR Athletes Analysis
