Cormac Comerford
Dubliner Cormac Comerford launched Team Ireland’s Olympic campaign on Saturday, officially becoming Ireland’s 34th Winter Olympian as he competed in the Men’s Downhill at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Racing on the iconic Stelvio Slope, the Alpine skier recorded a time of 2:04.40 to finish 34th, marking Team Ireland’s first appearance of the Games.
The Glenageary skier was the final athlete to start in the downhill field, tackling what is widely regarded as the most challenging slope in world skiing, in demanding conditions. Starting last brought added pressure, with the track heavily worn by the time Comerford pushed out of the gate, but he successfully negotiated the course to bring his Olympic debut safely to the finish.
“It’s an incredible feeling to make my Olympic debut today in this weather, on this slope,” he said.
“To bring it down Stelvio is a huge achievement, coming from the artificial slope back home. There’s a huge sense of pride. I made a few mistakes in the run, it felt smoother in training, but that’s racing and I’m really proud to have brought it down.”
Thomas Maloney Westgaard
Three-time Olympian, Thomas Maloney Westgård finished his first race of three at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games on Sunday with a 35th place in the Men’s 10km + 10km Skiathlon in a time of 49.24.6. The Cross-Country skiing events take place in the Tesero Cross-Country Stadium just outside the town of Predazzo.
Competition took place in relatively mild conditions creating a tough course for the athletes in the event which involves skiers competing 10km using classic skis before transitioning to a 10km free skating finish. Wearing bib 36 off the start, in what is his least preferred discipline, Maloney Westgård stuck with the opening hectic pace.
“That was a tough one.,” he said after competing.
“Soft conditions and quite icy and tricky in the downhills and crusty corners. So it was a really challenging course for sure. Just like it should be in the Olympics. I was a bit anxious on some of the downhill. So, yeah, I’m happy to have started the Olympics.”
“My plan was to stick in the front as long as I could, but the pace was ridiculous. It was full out from the start and there was no time for rest. I felt like I got a blood taste after like 3K and the cramps were coming up halfway through the race. So, it was so tough, just like it should be in the Olympics. But, I put everything out there and I can’t really ask for more.”
Lindsey Vonn
Nine days after rupturing ligaments in her left knee, Lindsey Vonn pushed out of the start gate at Olimpia delle Tofane chasing a final Olympic descent that felt almost implausible even by her standards. At 41, carrying a torn ACL, she had already defied the script simply by being there.
Then came the first jump.
A fraction mistimed, a ski pole clipping the gate, balance lost at the worst possible moment. In downhill skiing there is no recovery phase — only speed and consequence. Vonn was thrown violently to the piste, the race instantly dissolving into silence.
She was airlifted from the slope to Ca’ Foncello Hospital in Treviso, 130 kilometres away, where surgeons later stabilised a fracture in her left leg — the same leg already compromised by the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. Another injury added to a career-long ledger of damage absorbed in pursuit of speed.
Vonn had completed two training runs on the iconic Cortina course in the days before, despite the ACL, but the improbability of what she was trying to achieve, caught up with her, leaving fellow Team USA skiier Breezy Johnson to take the Gold.
The Opening Ceremony
What’s On Today?
BBC1 and 2 09:00-22:00
TNT Sports 09:00-22:00
RTÉ Player Highlights, 220:00-23:00
Men’s and Women’s Downhill Training Runs 10:30
Speed Skating: Women’s 1,000 Metres, 16:30
Luge: Women’s Singles Runs 1 and 2; 16:00 and 17:35
Ice Dancing: Rhythm Dance 18:20
Women’s Ice Hockey: Japan Vs Italy, 11:10; Germany Vs France, 15:40; Switzerland Vs USA, 19:40; Canada Vs Czechia, 20:10
Next Irish Action on Wednesday.
Image Credit: Olympic Federation of Ireland and Dave Fitzgerald, Sportsfile
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