Milano Cortina 2026: Golden day for Italian Para alpine skiers
Host Italy has already won more medals than it did at Beijing 2022 10 Mar 2026
Italian Para alpine skiers are putting on the show of their lives at Milano Cortina 2026 with a flurry of podium finishes on Day 4 helping the team surpass their total medal tally from four years ago at Beijing 2022.
At Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Italy added a gold and three silvers bringing its overall medal haul to nine – three gold, five silvers and a bronze.
At Beijing 2022, Italy won a total of seven medals - two gold, three silver, two bronze.
Italian stars shine on home soil
Giacomo Bertagnolli led the way, thundering down the slope to claim the men’s alpine combined vision impaired race in a time of 1:56.42. He edged out Great Britain’s Neil Simpson and Austrian powerhouse Johannes Aigner.
“I’ll celebrate by going to sleep,” Bertagnolli said.
“I'm going to sleep for two days because I'm so tired. My knees, I have so much pain in my knees and back right now. I need to have a rest, a lot of power naps and then I'm ready to compete again in a couple of days."
“I have another two races to do. It’s not finished yet. We need to recharge so we are ready to do other super good races.”
Bertagnolli now has a complete set of medals from these Games. He also won a bronze in downhill and a silver in super-G.
The Italian spectators went wild, singing and dancing and waving Italian flags in the stands as they watched their athletes cross the finish line.
He thanked the loud and proud Italian cheer squad for their love and support.
“Thank you so much to everyone. It’s also your gold medal. It’s something I can’t describe, to see you all here,” he said.
Bertagnolli has been one of Italy’s brightest Para alpine skiing stars – he has collected four gold medals, and four other podium finishes across PyeonChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.
Medal haul
The host nation now has its sights on making history in front of its hometown fans. Its largest ever Winter Paralympic medal haul was Lillehammer 1994 (Norway), when Italy secured a total of 13 medals, six silver and seven bronze.
The team has a total of three gold medals – one in Para snowboard and two in Para alpine skiing – which equals Italy’s record at a Paralympic Games.
Italian flag bearer Chiara Mazzel, who hails from the nearby Trentino region, scored a silver medal in the women’s vision impaired combined event behind Austrian speed machine Veronika Aigner.
On Monday, Mazzel claimed Italy’s second gold medal of the games winning the vision impaired super G beating Aigner. The young gun also has a silver medal from the downhill event.
Asked about the host nation’s growing medal haul, she said: “It’s so beautiful. It’s very emotional.”
“I have family and friends in the crowd today and my boyfriend.” she said.
Mazzel dedicated her performances to her partner Nico – the couple have been together for four years.
With two more days of racing left – the giant slalom and slalom - she hopes to keep up the momentum.
“I’ve got a bit of energy (left in the tank) it can be enough,” she said.
In the men’s standing combined event, Italy’s Federico Pelizzari netted a silver medal, behind France’s Arthur Bauchet while Austria’s Thomas Grochar rounded out the podium.
“For me, it's kind of everything. I started skiing when I was three. I started racing when I was six, I always did it. It's my life. I never wanted to do anything else,” he told reporters.
“Always travelling, never being with my loved ones. I really worked hard, and finally, it paid off. This medal means everything."
In the men’s sitting combined event, Italy’s other flagbearer Rene de Silvestro was just edged out by Dutch mono skier Jeroen Kampschreur, who secured his second gold of the games. Fellow Dutchman Niels de Langen came third.
Where to watch and listen to the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
Milano Cortina 2026, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less.
For more information, please visit tickets.milanocortina2026.org
