by Oliver Trust
BERLIN, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland erupted in celebration on Wednesday after 24-year-old Alpine skier Franjo von Allmen secured his third gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Von Allmen became only the third male Alpine skier to win three gold medals at a single Winter Olympics, following Austria's Toni Sailer in 1956 and France's Jean-Claude Killy in 1968.
Back home, excitement has reached fever pitch across the country, from major cities to his hometown of Boltigen, some 45 kilometers south of the Swiss capital, Bern.
Swiss newspapers competed with imaginative headlines. Daily Der Bund wrote of an "almost alien-like lightness" in Von Allmen's skiing, while Berner Zeitung suggested the new national superstar deserved at least a street named after him.
His achievement also inspired fans' creativity. Schoolchildren composed a song in his honor, a local butcher began selling a "Franjo sausage," and his uncle's bakery introduced a high-energy "power bar." A pub even created the "Franjo shot," a blue-colored liquor inspired by the lines marking ski courses.
Von Allmen lost his father at 17, plunging his family into financial difficulty. A funding campaign raised 16,000 euros, allowing him to continue skiing for another year and eventually earn a place on Switzerland's national team.
"My father's death threw everything off track. The question was simply: Can I keep skiing?" he recalled. "I always had to do more than others."
Today, the smiling face of the two-time world champion appears on the homepage of Boltigen's website, accompanied by a simple message: "Hey Franjo, we are proud of you."
Von Allmen, for his part, has promised "to stay the way I am," admitting he still struggles to comprehend the scale of his Olympic success.
"Three gold medals," he said, "is something you just can't fully grasp as reality." ■
