The men's slalom event at the Olympics faced significant challenges due to severe weather conditions in Bormio. The snowstorm was intense enough to cause multiple athletes to crash out early, with Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who recently secured Brazil's first-ever Winter Olympic medal, being one of the notable casualties. After only about 20 seconds into his first run, Sweden's Kristoffer Jakobsen crashed out, unable to maintain his balance amidst the adverse conditions.

After Jakobsen's unfortunate exit, attention turned to Swedish skier Fabian Ax Swartz, who managed to complete his run but did so over three seconds slower than Norwegian Atle Lie McGrath, the first athlete to compete that day. Ax Swartz described the course as extremely difficult, noting the poor visibility and challenging snow conditions. The prevailing sentiment among competitors was that achieving a good time was nearly impossible under such circumstances.

As the first runs progressed, Ax Swartz's time placed him in 16th position, which appeared sufficient for advancement to the second run scheduled later. This unpredictable weather has raised concerns about the impact of climate on winter sports and has turned the focus on how athletes might adapt to these challenges as Olympic competition unfolds.