Sofia Goggia Lights Cortina Cauldron to Kick Off Milan-Cortina 2026
Sofia Goggia Lights Cortina Cauldron to Kick Off Milan-Cortina 2026
Italy's Sofia Goggia lights the Cortina cauldron as Milan-Cortina 2026 opens, celebrating Italy's hosting bid with a star-studded ceremony in Cortina and Milan.
Sofia Goggia lit the cauldron in Cortina to close Friday's opening ceremony, a fitting capstone after her pivotal role in securing the Milan Cortina Games for Italy. The night also included a Milan segment where retired Olympic champions Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni performed the honours simultaneously in Milan, linking Cortina's mountains with the city that helped win the bid.
In the lead-up, Goggia and Michela Moioli delivered a joint speech and dab at the IOC voting session in 2019, a moment widely credited with helping Milan Cortina overcome a rival Swedish bid. Their energy, optimism and teamwork were cited as vital in convincing voters to place the Games in northern Italy.
Goggia, who won downhill gold in PyeongChang 2018 and collected silver in Beijing four years later, faced a dramatic season off the course with a Cortina crash, but she remains a central figure for the home team. She’s slated to race again in the women’s downhill on Sunday in Cortina, aiming for more medals on familiar turf.
The opening also highlighted Italy's top skiing talents: Federica Brignone, one of the host country's flag bearers in Cortina, and Olympic curling champion Amos Mosaner, the other flag bearer, who carried Brignone on his shoulders as the Azzurri paraded through the town center.
Stefania Constantini and luger Dominik Fischnaller read the Olympic oath in Cortina, while Gustav Thoeni, the 1972 giant slalom champion, handed off the final torch to Goggia. The night capped a big moment for Italian Alpine skiers as Milan Cortina 2026 prepares to unfold.
