Italy beat Switzerland to win the mixed team parallel event that opened the World Alpine Skiing Championships on Tuesday.
Thomas Tumler was slow out of the gate in the decisive heat of the final and couldn’t catch up to Italy’s Alex Vinatzer. The final ended 2-2 and Italy won with an advantage of 0.45 seconds in total time.
It could be the start of a big championships for Italy, which has Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia in top form and among the favorites in multiple events.
“It’s a good start because we invest a lot,” Italian team leader Max Carca said. “We have a lot of expectations from the girls side.”
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The defending champion United States lost a chance for a medal when Isaiah Nelson lost control toward the end of the fourth and decisive run of the bronze-medal race — handing the medal to Sweden and leaving the Americans in fourth.
Host Austria, which had a first-round bye, was eliminated immediately by Sweden.
In the final, Giorgia Collomb beat Wendy Holdener before Luca Aerni equalized for Switzerland by beating Filippo Della Vite. Then Delphine Darbellay put Switzerland ahead when Lara Della Mea made a series of errors. But Vinatzer, who recently finished second in a World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, secured the title.
The mixed team event was held at the Olympics in 2018 (won by Switzerland) and 2022 (Austria) but is no longer on the Olympic program.
Worlds continue Thursday with the first individual race — the women’s super-G featuring Lindsey Vonn in her first world championships race since 2019. It’s live on Peacock at 5:30 a.m. ET.