By Martyn Herman BORMIO, Italy, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Italy's speed team laid down a marker on the second training day for the Olympic downhill with Mattia Casse, Florian Schieder and Giovanni Franzoni setting the three quickest times on Thursday.

Explore Olympic Alpine skiing basics, including the events (downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super-G, combined), competition rules how medals are won and the top American athletes to watch out for at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina.

American skier Ryan Cochran-Siegle was fastest in the opening downhill training session of the Milan Cortina Games.

The 2026 Winter Olympics are officially underway. Even though the Opening Ceremony won't be held until Friday evening in Milan, events began on Wednesday, including round-robin curling and Alpine skiing men's downhill training.

Alpine skiing is one of the signature sports at the Winter Olympics, and it will be no different at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games. American stars such as Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn are among the headliners taking to the slopes in search of gold.

Skiers from host Italy still trying to secure a starting spot dominated the second downhill training session at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

As the Olympic Games get underway, all eyes are on skiing legend Lindsey Vonn, who isn't letting an injured knee stop her from competing. Seth Doane has the update.