Rene de Silvestro: 'Winning gold at Milano Cortina 2026 was the best experience'
For Italian Para alpine skiing star Rene De Silvestro, a home Paralympics was all about finishing on top of the podium 26 May 2026
Italian Para alpine skier Rene de Silvestro insists that life "has not changed much" since he won his maiden Paralympic gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
Does he now get recognised when he is out in public? “Sometimes, but there have been no unusual encounters with fans.”
What has he been up to since claiming Paralympic gold medal in the men’s giant slalom sitting event?
“After Milano Cortina, let's just say I've relaxed a bit," said de Silvestro, 29. "I am able to spend a lot of time with my family. I'm slowly getting back to training."
Then he adds, almost as an afterthought: “In the meantime, I have also had some events. Including a meeting with (Italian) President (Sergio) Mattarella and the Pope (Leo XIV).”
De Silvestro has also appeared on Verissimo, an Italian chat and entertainment TV show, where guests normally come from the world of showbusiness.
But you understand his apparent modesty when it comes to the level of celebrity he has reached in his homeland. After all, the top of a Paralympic podium was, for him more than most, the peak; an achievement of more than 10 years in the making.
Raised on the slopes
De Silvestro was born in San Candido, just 45 minutes north of Cortina d'Ampezzo, where the Para alpine skiing events were held during the Games. So, his Paralympic path was determined what he knew best.
He was more or less born and raised on the slopes and was skiing competitively when a training accident in 2013 led to an injury of the spinal cord, causing paralysis in his lower limbs.
After seven months in intensive care and a period of rehab which included trying throwing events in Para athletics, De Silvestro returned to his first love, this time using a sit-ski, or mono ski.
Within little more than two years, he claimed his first - of 58 - World Cup podiums, shortly before competing at PyeongChang 2018, his first Paralympic Winter Games. He would have to wait until Beijing 2022 to claim his first medals, though, silver and bronze in the giant slalom and slalom, respectively.
He has also won six World Championships medals, including two gold, so to say the pressure was on to claim that elusive Paralympic title just 15 minutes from where de Silvestro lives in San Vito di Cadore, is an understatement - or so you would think.
“Having so many friends and family in the crowd gave me more inspiration than pressure,” he said. “And knowing the slopes of Cortina so well definitely gave me peace of mind. It was a huge advantage.
“The goal was to improve on Beijing while the approach was to have fun.”
Not too much, fun, though. De Silvestro chose to stay in the Paralympic Village for the entirety of the Games to avoid the distractions of a place he knows so well. Did it help?
“Maybe.”
After finishing fourth on the famous Olimpia delle Tofane downhill course and again finishing just outside the medals in the super-G, the local hero settled his nerves by claiming silver in the combined event.
Coming into the penultimate event, the giant slalom, as the reigning world champion, he does admit to feeling “a bit of pressure”, but he “tried not to think about it” and that approach seemed to work. He crossed the line 0.57 seconds faster than Niels de Langen of the Netherlands to send a packed grandstand at the bottom of the course wild.
“At the time I couldn't believe it,” Di Silvestro said of taking gold on home snow. “But when I stood on the top step of the podium, I was over the moon. Winning at home gives everything an immense value.”
But despite describing Milano Cortina 2026 as the “best experience of my life”, de Silvestro did not become a Paralympic star and inspiration to, among others, double Olympic alpine skiing champion and sometime training partner Federica Brignone of Italy, by dwelling on the past.
“I'm already thinking about the future,” he said as he approaches his 30th birthday. “For now I want to continue working towards the French Alps 2030 (Paralympic Winter Games).”
