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After three years competing, Giacomo Bertagnolli made a name for himself on the alpine skiing international scene after an outstanding performance at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.
The Italian took double gold in the men´s slalom and giant slalom vision impaired alongside guide Fabrizio Casal. He added silver in the super-G and bronze in the downhill to his haul.
But Bertagnolli had really come of age in the 2016-17 season.
Back then, the youngster won his first world title on home snow in Tarvisio, Italy, alongside two other podium finishes.
He also followed on from his overall World Cup win in 2015-16 with top three finishes in the super-G, super-combined and slalom. He finished second overall in the men's vision impaired behind Slovakia's Miroslav Haraus.
Bertagnolli and Casal enjoy a close friendship that has enabled them to enjoy success throughout the years. Having been to school with each other, the pair decided to transfer their relationship to competition.
Biography
Impairment information
Further personal information
Sport specific information
International debut
General interest
He and his guide Fabrizio Casal have been friends since they were at school together, and after returning from the 2018 Paralympic Games in Pyeongchang they both had to take their final exams. Although the pair won two gold medals in Pyeongchang, as well as a silver and a bronze, Bertagnolli was still looking for ways to improve ahead of the 2018/19 season. "The better we get, the faster we get, which makes it more difficult to see. If I am too fast, I can't see the pole, if I am slower I can see the pole at the last second, but a little faster and I can't see it any more. I realised the solution was not to worry about the gates. Instead I just need to worry about Fabrizio and stay much nearer to him. If I stay just behind him, say 1.5m or something, then I can see the line he is taking and just follow it." (paralympic.org, 03 Jan 2019; pyeongchang2018.com, 05 Mar 2018)
Results
| Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Giant Slalom VI | Race 1 | 2015-03-08 | 10 | |
| Men's Slalom VI | Race 1 | 2015-03-10 | 9999 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Downhill VI | Race 1 | 2017-01-25 | 5 | |
| Men's Super-G VI | Race 1 | 2017-01-26 | 3 | |
| Men's Super-Combined VI | Race 1 | 2017-01-28 | 1 | |
| Men's Giant Slalom VI | Race 1 | 2017-01-30 | 2 | |
| Men's Slalom VI | Race 1 | 2017-01-31 | 9999 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Downhill Visually Impaired | Final | 2018-03-10 | 3 | |
| Men's Super-G Visually Impaired | Final | 2018-03-11 | 2 | |
| Men's Super Combined Visually Impaired | Final | 2018-03-13 | 9999 | |
| Men's Giant Slalom Visually Impaired | Final | 2018-03-14 | 1 | |
| Men's Slalom Visually Impaired | Final | 2018-03-17 | 1 |
| Event | Medal | Unit | Date | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Giant Slalom VI | Race 1 | 2019-01-21 | 2 | |
| Men's Slalom VI | Race 1 | 2019-01-23 | 1 | |
| Men's Downhill VI | Race 1 | 2019-01-30 | 1 | |
| Men's Super-G VI | Race 1 (from SC) | 2019-01-31 | 1 | |
| Men's Super-Combined VI | Race 1 | 2019-01-31 | 1 |