Italy's Paralympic Team Matches Historic Medal Record at Home Games

Italy's Paralympic team has hit a historic milestone at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics, matching the nation's 32-year-old medal record of 13 podium finishes first set at Lillehammer 1994. The breakthrough came as visually impaired alpine skier Giacomo Bertagnolli, guided by Andrea Ravelli, claimed silver in the Giant Slalom Vision Impaired category—delivering the tally that drew level with Italy's best-ever Paralympic winter haul.

Why This Matters

• Historic parity achieved: Italy has matched its 13-medal benchmark from Lillehammer 1994, though this time with multiple golds instead of none.

• Home advantage delivers: Competing on Italian snow has translated into the country's strongest Paralympic performance in three decades.

• Final events pending: With competitions running through March 15, Italy has the chance to surpass the record outright before closing ceremonies in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

Bertagnolli Eyes Gold After Fourth Medal

Bertagnolli's silver in the Giant Slalom marks his fourth medal of the Games, following earlier podium finishes in Super-G, combined, and downhill events. The 26-year-old from Trentino, skiing with guide Ravelli, has become one of the faces of Italy's Paralympic surge—but he's far from satisfied.

"This glass is half full, sure, but these are excellent results," Bertagnolli said after the race. "I've given away too many medals by small margins, but that's also the stimulus you need to do better." He was candid about his ambitions for the final slalom event scheduled for Sunday: "I'm charged up because I need to bring home gold. Enough handing out medals to everyone else."

The comment reflects both competitive hunger and the razor-thin margins that define elite Paralympic alpine skiing. Bertagnolli and Ravelli have consistently placed on the podium but narrowly missed the top step in several disciplines, a pattern the Italian hopes to break before the Games conclude.

Snowboard Dominance Fuels Italy's Surge

While alpine skiing delivered multiple medals, it's para snowboard that has defined Italy's Milano Cortina campaign. Emanuel Perathoner made history by becoming the first Paralympic snowboarder to win two golds at a single Games, triumphing in both the SB-LL2 snowboard cross and the banked slalom. His double gold is unprecedented in the sport's relatively short Paralympic history, which began as a demonstration event before gaining full status at PyeongChang 2018.

Jacopo Luchini added another gold for Italy in the SB-UL banked slalom, cementing the host nation's dominance in a discipline that has grown rapidly since its Paralympic debut in Sochi 2014. Italy's sweep in snowboard reflects years of investment in adaptive winter sports infrastructure and coaching, particularly in the Dolomites region where the sport has deep cultural roots.

What This Means for Italian Paralympic Sports

The 13-medal haul—comprising at least 5 golds—represents a qualitative leap from Lillehammer 1994, when Italy's 13 medals included zero golds, only 7 silvers and 6 bronzes. That edition saw Italy finish 17th in the overall medal table; this year, competing at home, the Italians have hovered between 4th and 5th place throughout the Games.

Beyond the numbers, Milano Cortina 2026 has showcased the maturation of Italy's Paralympic talent pipeline. Athletes like Chiara Mazzel (multiple alpine medals with guide Nicola Cotti Cottini), Federico Pelizzari (alpine combined silver), and René De Silvestro (sitting combined silver) have all contributed to a geographically and technically diverse medal base. The success spans alpine skiing, snowboard, and potentially other disciplines still in competition.

The home-field advantage has been tangible. Events held in Cortina d'Ampezzo—site of the 1956 Winter Olympics—and Tesero in Val di Fiemme have drawn enthusiastic crowds, providing an emotional boost that Italian coaches cited as a key factor. The Italian Paralympic Committee invested heavily in preparation, with training camps in the Alps and partnerships with local ski federations that gave athletes extended access to competition venues.

Breaking Down the Medal Count

As of the March 13 milestone, Italy's medals break down roughly as follows across disciplines:

Alpine skiing has delivered the bulk of the haul, with Bertagnolli, Mazzel, Pelizzari, and De Silvestro all reaching the podium multiple times. The vision-impaired (VI) category has been particularly strong, reflecting Italy's long tradition in guide-athlete partnerships.

Para snowboard accounts for at least 3 golds, with Perathoner's double and Luchini's banked slalom victory. The discipline's growth trajectory—from a subset of alpine skiing in 2014 to a standalone sport with eight medal events by 2022—has aligned perfectly with Italy's strengths in mountain board sports.

Biathlon, cross-country skiing, para ice hockey, and wheelchair curling have yet to produce podium finishes for Italy at these Games, though competition in those disciplines continues through the closing weekend.

Lillehammer 1994: The Benchmark

The Lillehammer comparison carries symbolic weight for Italian Paralympic sport. That 1994 team of 24 athletes set a standard that endured through six subsequent Winter Paralympics, including editions in Nagano, Salt Lake City, Turin (where Italy hosted but won fewer medals), Vancouver, Sochi, PyeongChang, and Beijing.

Lillehammer's 13 medals came in an era when Paralympic classification systems and event structures differed significantly from today. The absence of snowboard events, for instance, meant Italy's 1994 medals were concentrated in alpine skiing, cross-country, and biathlon. The Italian Disability Sports Federation (FISDIR) has noted that the current generation benefits from expanded event categories and more refined classification, which has opened new medal opportunities.

The Road to Record-Breaking

With two full days of competition remaining—including Bertagnolli's final slalom and several other alpine and Nordic events—Italy has realistic opportunities to exceed 13 medals. The Italian delegation arrived in Cortina with publicly stated goals of "making history" and surpassing previous benchmarks, leveraging the home advantage and a roster of 40+ athletes, nearly double the size of the Lillehammer team.

Whether Italy breaks through the 13-medal ceiling or not, the qualitative achievement is already clear: this is the first Italian Winter Paralympic team to win multiple golds and to compete consistently at the top of the medal table. The shift from Lillehammer's respectable but gold-free performance to Milano Cortina's multi-gold campaign marks a generational evolution in Italian adaptive sport.

What Happens Next

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics conclude on March 15 with closing ceremonies at the Ice Stadium in Cortina d'Ampezzo. Final medal events are scheduled across alpine skiing, snowboard, biathlon, and cross-country disciplines. Bertagnolli's quest for gold in the slalom on Sunday will be a focal point for Italian spectators, as will several other athletes still in medal contention.

For residents and sports fans across Italy, the Games have provided a rare home-turf showcase of Paralympic excellence. Venues in Cortina, Tesero, and Milano (for para ice hockey) have hosted near-capacity crowds, a departure from the often sparse attendance at international Paralympic events. The Italian government and regional authorities in Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige invested an estimated €1.3B in venue construction and upgrades, infrastructure that will serve both able-bodied and adaptive sports for decades.

The long-term legacy question centers on whether Milano Cortina 2026 can sustain momentum for Italian Paralympic sport beyond the glow of a home Games. Early indicators—including increased media coverage, sponsorship deals, and youth program enrollment—suggest the answer may be yes, particularly in alpine and snowboard disciplines where Italy now holds a global competitive edge.