SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — In an exciting kickoff to the Alpine skiing world championships, Italy triumphed over Switzerland in the mixed team parallel event held on Tuesday.

In the final showdown, Thomas Tumler struggled to get off the starting line and was unable to catch up with Alex Vinatzer from Italy. With the final score tied at 2-2, Italy claimed victory due to a total time advantage of 0.45 seconds.

This victory may signal the beginning of a successful championship run for Italy, bolstered by top performers Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia, both considered frontrunners in several upcoming events.

“It’s an encouraging start for us, especially since we invest a lot into our preparations,” expressed Max Carca, the leader of the Italian team. “There are significant expectations from the women’s side, and we aim to meet them.”

The defending champions, the United States, fell short of securing a medal after Isaiah Nelson lost his balance near the end of the fourth and final race for the bronze. This misstep ultimately allowed Sweden to take the medal while finishing in fourth place.

As hosts, Austria had received a bye in the first round but faced immediate elimination against Sweden.

In the decisive final rounds, Giorgia Collomb earned a win for Italy against Wendy Holdener. Subsequently, Luca Aerni helped Switzerland tie the score by defeating Filippo Della Vite. Switzerland initially took a lead when Delphine Darbellay capitalized on mistakes made by Lara Della Mea. However, Vinatzer, who recently placed second in a World Cup slalom event in Kitzbuehel, clinched the championship victory for Italy.

Looking ahead, the women’s super-G, featuring star athletes Brignone, Goggia, and Lindsey Vonn, will be the first individual race of the championships on Thursday.