Paralympics, Romele Bronze medal in 20 km cross-country

She sweated it out until the last race, but in the end this medal came. In the longest and most gruelling dustanza of Paralympic Nordic skiing, the 20 km cross-country race among sitting athletes, those who compete sitting down. The bronze medal went to Giuseppe Romele, who finished the competition on the snow at Lago di Tesero, in Trentino, in 1:22.1, surpassed only by China's Mao and Russia's Golupkov.

Paralimpiadi Milano Cortina 2026 - Sci di fondo paralimpico - Cerimonia di premiazione della gara maschile di sci di fondo 20 km con partenza a intervalli (categoria seduti) - Stadio di sci di fondo di Tesero, Lago, Italia - 15 marzo 2026. Il medaglia d'oro russo Ivan Golubkov festeggia sul podio durante la cerimonia di premiazione della gara maschile di sci di fondo 20 km con partenza a intervalli in posizione seduta insieme al medaglia di bronzo italiano Giuseppe Romele. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

"Today I will remember it for the rest of my life. It was quite complicated. On the third lap I thought I couldn't do it. I was fine physically but I couldn't get the energy out. I also crashed, losing a few seconds," he commented with bated breath immediately after the race. "I kept telling myself 'something will come, something will come'," he says, showing all the fatigue of having to start last (with bib number 52, in the staggered starts) and catch up with his rivals, on a snow already run through by so many other athletes. To those who pointed out to him that he was already in third place on lap 18, he joked: 'Let's hope that next year the races become 30 km, so I have time to wake up and make up for the gold.

Beppe Romele al traguardo della 20 km di sci di fondo uomini sitting alle Paralimpiadi di Milano Cortina 2026, dove si aggiudica la medaglia di bronzo, il 15 marzo 2026.

From the water of Paris to the snows of Cortina: Giuseppe 'Beppe' Romele is the living embodiment of athletic versatility. Class of 1992, from Lovere (Bergamo), born with bilateral femoral hypoplasia, the Lombard champion has signed one of the rarest feats in modern sport: after the bronze in cross-country skiing at Beijing 2022, he qualified and competed in the triathlon at the Paris 2024 Games. This dual soul makes him a total endurance athlete, capable of mastering fatigue 365 days a year. His record on the snow is one of excellence, with the world title he won in 2023 in Östersund in the 1.5 km Sprint and 20 km, confirming him as the king of long distances. For Beppe, the triathlon is not just a summer challenge, but the engine that fuels his endurance on narrow skis: "I love sports that require resilience, they complete me," he says. Today he proved it once again, reconfirming himself as Paralympic champion in front of his home crowd.

Italy's haul at Milan Cortina 2026 rises to 15 podiums: 6 golds so far. A staggering medal count for Paralympic Italia at the Winter Games, which far beats the record of Lillehammer 1994 (13 medals).