Milan Cortina 2026: sport becomes a collective legacy, between memory and future

The Olympic lights are still a long way off, but Italy is already in the running. A year and a half away from the opening of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Games, the country's sports and cultural system is building a narrative made up of relationships and stories. Like those of the Allianz project 'Sognando Milano Cortina 2026. On the shoulders of the Giants'. Six Italian athletes and parathletes, flanked by six legends of Italian sport, will be the protagonists of a narrative journey that will accompany the approach to the Olympic appointment, interweaving past, present and future. It is a sign that Milan-Cortina 2026 is already acting as a cultural device: activating languages, actors and processes capable of redesigning the role of sport in Italian society.

The structure of the project is simple. Each athlete is paired with a historical figure from Italian sport. The young Paralympic skier Martina Vozza, class of 2004, will be followed by downhill skiing legend Kristian Ghedina. Figure skater Nikolaj Memola will be with Barbara Fusar Poli, a leading figure skater on ice. While Giuseppe Romele, a leading figure in Nordic skiing and triathlon, will be joined by Cristian Zorzi, one of Italy's most brilliant cross-country skiers. Closing the circle are Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii, the leading figure skating duo from 2019, together with Maurizio Margaglio, from Milan, born in 1974, a former ice figure skater. Together they will also be the well-known face of short track Martina Valcepina and para-athlete Francesca Porcellato, who will also accompany the new generation off the stage.

"Allianz is a worldwide partner of the International Olympic and Paralympic Movements and in Italy we are at the side of CONI, CIP and the Fiamme Oro, as well as Milan Cortina 2026," commented Giacomo Campora, CEO of Allianz.

"Once again this year, we have identified our Ambassadors, extraordinary athletes and parathletes, winter sports champions, whose dreams and ambitions we will support as they prepare to compete for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Together with them, six athletes who have made the history of these sports, six giants in a symbolic relay race between past, present and future. Because every generation of athletes has a mission: to stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before them and look even further ahead'.

The project also includes the very young members of Team G, a group of promising Paralympic Alpine skiers selected by Fisip in cooperation with grassroots sports clubs. Supported by Allianz and the Umana mente foundation, these athletes are embarking on a path of growth that is already looking ahead to the 2030 Paralympic Winter Games, scheduled to take place in the French Alps.