BORMIO, Italy -- The day on the slalom hill saw a little bit of everything -- fog, snow, sunshine, crashes, a larger-than-typical field and, of course, an epic meltdown.
Loic Meillard of Switzerland used a strong second run to win the men's slalom Monday, becoming the first men's Swiss ski racer to win the Olympic slalom since 1948.
The event closes out the men's Alpine program at the Milan Cortina Games.
Meillard adds gold to a silver he won in the team combined and bronze from the giant slalom.
"To have three races, three medals, and to top it off with a gold -- it's perfect," said Meillard, who joins the company of Swiss racer Edi Reinalter, winner of the slalom at the 1948 Winter Games in St. Moritz.
"We're living in a bit of a 'Golden Era' in Switzerland in skiing. It's crazy what's been happening in the last few years, and so everyone has to enjoy it as much as possible, because most likely we will not stay like that for the next 10 years."
Meillard finished in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 53.61 seconds. He edged Fabio Gstrein of Austria by 0.35 seconds, while Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway took bronze.
It was quite an adventure to get there, though. There were the changing elements -- as snow and fog gave way to sun -- and spills like the one that ended the day of Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who was bidding for another Olympic gold.
Maybe above all, Norway's Atle Lie McGrath, the first-run leader, becoming so irate after straddling a gate that he threw his ski poles over the netting on one side. He then went outside the fencing on the other side, trudging along the snow.
The emotional McGrath then sat down and fell back, breathing heavily.
McGrath, who later arrived in the finish area and walked away without talking, has been racing with a heavy heart. His grandfather died the day of the opening ceremony. McGrath wore an armband as a tribute.
"What he's gone through these last 10, 12 days, it's been really tough," said his teammate, Timon Haugan, who finished fourth. "He's been really sad. He started to do better and today he's going through ... we need to really back him up today.
"It's just heartbreaking. He's doing everything perfect. He did a very good first run, put himself in a position to win the Olympic gold. He does everything right and then that happens in 15 seconds."
Kristoffersen understood his teammate's outburst.
"This is sports," said Kristoffersen, who was leading the slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games only to ski out in the final run. "What are sports without the emotions?"
Pinheiro Braathen made history by winning the giant slalom Saturday, becoming the first athlete from South America to win a medal at a Winter Olympics. But his ski slipped out on a fast first run and his bid for another medal was over.
He represented Norway before switching to Brazil, his mom's home country.
Switzerland led the men's Alpine skiing medal table in Bormio with eight (four gold, two silver and two bronze). Austria (two silvers) and Italy (silver, bronze) each had two, while Brazil (gold), U.S. (silver) and Norway (bronze) brought home one apiece.
The heavy snow led to a tricky morning of racing. The competition featured 96 racers in the field, with many representing nontraditional ski nations. Of the 96 racers, there were 49 who didn't finish the course, two who were disqualified and another who didn't start.
It was a ceremonial slalom run for AJ Ginnis of Greece. He said an ankle surgery didn't heal properly and he couldn't compete the way he wanted to. This was his farewell run.
"To be able to stand here today and just everything ski racing has given me in life, a college degree, security, and most importantly friends and people that will stay with me forever, it's just something that you could have told that to a 10-year-old AJ and his parents and they would have never believed it," Ginnis said.
Among the skiers in the field were Henri Rivers IV of Jamaica; Faiz Basha of Singapore and Lasse Gaxiola of Mexico. Gaxiola's mom, Sarah Schleper, competed in the super-G and giant slalom in Cortina.