Loic Meillard of Switzerland poses for photos during the awarding ceremony of the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

BORMIO, Italy, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland's Loic Meillard overcame treacherous conditions to capture gold in the men's slalom at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Monday, as Norway's Atle Lie McGrath failed to finish after leading the first run.

Heavy snowfall and a demanding course layout in the opening leg reduced the 96-man field to just 44 finishers. McGrath, the current world No. 1 in the FIS rankings, set the pace with a run of 56.14 seconds, holding a 0.59-second advantage over Meillard heading into the second run.

Conditions improved as the sky cleared for the decisive leg. Meillard delivered a composed performance to post a combined time of one minute 53.61 seconds, moving into the lead and applying pressure on his Norwegian rival.

McGrath, however, missed an early gate in his second run and recorded a DNF, storming off the piste as his gold medal hopes vanished.

Austria's Fabio Gstrein clocked 1:53.96 to take silver, while Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen finished 1.13 seconds behind Meillard to secure bronze.

Meillard, the reigning world champion, thus concluded the men's alpine skiing program at Milan-Cortina with a complete set of medals, having taken silver in the team combined and bronze in the giant slalom.

"Every medal is special. Every success has a story and emotions behind it, and that's what's beautiful," Meillard said. "Today to win slalom in the Olympics one year after being world champ is something very special, something I was hoping for and worked for. Today it paid off."

Switzerland's triumph also underscored its dominance in men's alpine skiing, with the nation claiming four of the five gold medals on offer. Meillard described the success as "a golden era in Switzerland," crediting the country's development system.

"It's most likely (because of) the work done by the federation all the way down to the kids," he said. "We always have good training, good coaches, good groups to grow up with, and now all that work has paid off.

Asked whether he had mixed feelings after seeing McGrath lose the gold at the final moment, the Swiss skier offered a measured response, saying "yes and no."

"Yes, because I think we are all friends and we all know how tough slalom can be and how disappointing it is to be in that situation," he said. "But on the other hand we also know when we are at the start gate, we want to beat each other and that's part of the sport."

China's Liu Xiaochen failed to finish the first run. ■

Gold medalist Loic Meillard (C) of Switzerland, silver medalist Fabio Gstrein (L) of Austria and bronze medalist Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway attend the awarding ceremony of the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

Loic Meillard of Switzerland competes during the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

Ariunbat Altanzul of Mongolia competes during the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Linus Strasser of Germany competes during the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Liu Xiaochen of China competes during the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Loic Meillard of Switzerland competes during the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)

Gold medalist Loic Meillard of Switzerland celebrates after the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

Fabio Gstrein of Austria competes during the alpine skiing men's slalom event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Bormio, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Xinhua/Yan Linyun)

(260215) -- CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Feb. 15, 2026 (Xinhua) -- Lara Markthaler of South Africa competes during the alpine skiing women's giant slalom run 1 at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, Italy, Feb. 15, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)