Two years to go until Milano Cortina 2026: Bertagnolli on the “special” home Games

Para alpine skiing star Giacomo Bertagnolli is always calm before his competitions – he controls his emotions and focuses on the race ahead. With his guide Andrea Ravelli, the Italian athlete skis down the slope, making controlled turns around racing gates before crossing the finish line.

With two years to go until Milano Cortina 2026, Bertagnolli is imagining what it would be like to compete at a Paralympics in Italy. He thinks about what he will be feeling just before his races and what it will be like to find many familiar faces in the crowd.

While he has captured eight medals, including four golds, across two Games, the 25-year-old athlete knows how special skiing in front of a home crowd can be.

“It’s probably completely different from the past, being there (in Italy) and having the opportunity to compete with all your friends and your family watching you,” Bertagnolli said.

“For sure, it is something that almost never happens to an athlete, to have the opportunity to compete at a home Paralympics. This is something super special for me and I want to arrive there ready to do the best I can.”

Counting down to the Games

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, which open on 6 March 2026, will consist of 79 medal events across six sports – Para alpine skiing, Para biathlon, Para cross-country skiing, Para ice hockey, Para snowboard and wheelchair curling. More than 600 athletes will take centre stage at the first Winter Games in Italy since Torino 2006.

When Bertagnolli thinks about the two Paralympics he has competed in, he describes them as special in different ways.

While he did not have high expectations, he finished on the podium in all his events, winning two golds, a silver and a bronze at PyeongChang 2018. These motivated him to improve in the sport to prove that he is the best skier in the world.

Four years later, he carried Italy’s flag into the Opening Ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium, discovering that it is not easy to wave the flag while leading the delegation. On the slopes, he captured two gold and two silver medals, bettering his results from the previous Games.

At Milano Cortina 2026, Para alpine skiing will consist of 30 medal events taking place at Olympia Delle Tofane in Cortina D’Ampezzo, just a two hour drive from where he lives.
And Bertagnolli has a big dream. 

“My dream is to win in my country. I was already the winner in Beijing and PyeongChang, but winning in Italy is a dream that I haven’t achieved yet,” he said. “My goal is to improve my results again even if it seems impossible.

“I know I need to improve a lot. I can go much faster, much better on the skis. Two years is a long time, but at the same time, it passes so quickly.”

Perfect teamwork

Bertagnolli, who has a vision impairment, has worked with his guide Raveli since the end of the 2019 season. Since the Beijing 2022 Paralympics, the pair have been hitting the slopes to “find a better feel” and to improve their times.

“We are trying to find a better feeling on the slopes to try to be faster. Right now, I would say we are at the top level so improving from now will be difficult,” Bertagnolli said.

With the Games approaching, the Paralympic champion described how his partnership with Raveli has helped him reach new heights.

“We have a super good feeling. For example, when I have some bad days, he already knows how to work and what to do during the race. Maybe it’s not about pushing, and he can wait for me so we can finish our races, which is important,” he described.

“And when, for example, I’m feeling good on the skis, Andrea knows that so he tries to bring me to the bottom as fast as he can. We have a good teamwork.”

Here we come, Milano Cortina 2026

Earlier this year, Bertagnolli competed at a FIS Para Alpine Ski World Cup event in Cortina D’Ampezzo and won three medals, including a gold in the men’s downhill/vision impaired event. Competing in the host city two years ahead of the Games turned out to be a confidence boost for him.

“I had never raced there before. I had a super (great) feeling on the slope so I’m pretty confident I can give 100 per cent of my capacity on the slope (at the Paralympics),” he said. “It was an important (opportunity) because there are slopes that I really don’t like during World Cups or other races, and Cortina is not one of them.

“Just having this kind of feeling on the slope this year was good. For example, the downhill was pretty steep, it was pretty fast and it’s something that I really like.”

Live the moment

As athletes prepare for the Games, Bertagnolli has an important piece of advice to those who are dreaming of making their Paralympic debut at Milano Cortina 2026.

“Just try to enjoy all the events if you are here, because you deserve it. Not everyone can achieve such a result. Being at the Games means that you are one of the best athletes in the world,” Bertagnolli said.

“Then, try to do the impossible of winning a gold. But first, enjoy and live the moment. And if you win, you can try to do even better next time.”

And he hopes fans from Italy and around the world will support athletes in two years’ time.

“They can watch the best races at the Paralympics. I think it is also the biggest opportunity that athletes have to show the world how brave we can be and how good skiing can be.”