3 golds, 5 silvers, and 1 bronze . This is the tally of triumphs achieved, so far, by Italy at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics. Today in particular brought several triumphs to the Italian athletes, with Giacomo Bertagnolli taking center stage. The Cavalese native, born in 1999, won his first gold medal of this edition, his third overall after the silver and bronze medals won in the previous days.
Bertagnolli took first place in the visually impaired alpine skiing combined event, which he won alongside guide Andrea Ravelli . "A bronze, a silver, and now the gold: it was the medal we've been waiting for, dreaming of, the one we've been training for for the past four years," Bertagnolli said after the race. "There were many unexpected events, but both Andrea and I persevered and encouraged each other. This is my eleventh medal and my fifth gold at the Paralympics, and there are still two more races to go: I'm aiming to be the most decorated Italian athlete ever ."
But the Italian successes don't end with Bertagnoli. Before him, Chiara Mazzel had won the silver medal in the same discipline, accompanied by her guide Nicola Cotti . Finally, two silver medals were also won by Federico Pelizzari in the standing combined category and by Renè De Silvestro in the sitting combined category. With today's victories, Italy has now won nine medals . This result, just four days before the opening of the Paralympics, has already allowed the Italians to surpass the medal haul they won at Beijing 2022 (seven at that time).
(Unioneonline/ns)
