Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: in Livigno the historic double in the free style of the two Italian boys who then embrace each other in the snow
He arrives in Livigno under a heavy snowfall the magical day of Simone Deromedis and Federico Tomasoni, gold and silver in skicross in a race always dominated by the favorite Deromedis with Tomasoni very good at beating the Swiss Fiva who had to settle for the bronze. For Team Italy in these fantastic Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina it is the tenth goldas much as the United States who precede us in the medal table for having won more silvers than us.
The final hug
After the bronzes of Dalmassi and Tarabelli, here is Italy’s first gold in free style. Since the beginning of the competition, Team Italy has demonstrated its strength by placing four Italians in the quarter-finals. Deromedis and Tomasoni continued their journey arm in arm, always qualifying as first and second in the same group. Until the final, where the 2023 world champion from Trentino demonstrated his superiority by leading everyone. In the end the two exhausted Italian boys hugged each other and collapsed on the snow overcome by fatigue. Deromedis had planned the tactics before the start: “I’m aiming to do the race solo, already finding myself in the lead from the first corner. It would be the safest way to take home the success, because if you’re second or third you risk being involved in crashes.” Plan executed to perfection.
The story of Deromedis
Simone Deromedis he was the first Italian to win a world title in Italian freestyle, gold in ski cross in Bakuriani, Georgia (arrived after fifth place at the 2022 Beijing Olympics). A historic achievement, the first great dream realized in his career. A few days ago he talked about his emotion at the Olympics: “The atmosphere of the Games is always special. Livigno is celebrating, everything is beautiful”. Simone’s story begins with alpine skiing, in Predaia, in Val di Non (“where there is only one ski lift”). With a natural inclination for jumps and fast disciplines, without fear of taking risks. The turning point was at 16, with ski cross at the Topolino Trophy in Folgaria. A new beginning. Fifth at the Beijing Games, in the last four years he won the 2023 world title and finished second in the 2024/25 World Cup. And now the Olympic gold won with the helmet that pays homage to the great Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna. Yes, because Deromedis, in addition to being a skiing champion, is also a great Formula 1 fan.
