Italy used its home advantage to win by far the most successful Winter Olympics in its history. In the end, 30 medals were won.
22.02.2026, 10:13
SDA
Just nine days - just over half the duration - were enough for Italy to surpass its previous record of 20 medals at the Winter Olympics, set in Lillehammer in 1994. Speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida, the great-niece of former acting icon Gina Lollobrigida, kicked things off the day after the opening ceremony with gold in the 3000m.
The hosts ended up with 30 medals - ten in gold, six in silver and fourteen in bronze. The home advantage and the money invested in sports promotion definitely paid off. In total, there was precious metal in no fewer than ten out of sixteen sports. The most successful in Lollobrigida's wake were the speed skaters with three gold medals, followed by the skiers and lugers with two each.
Emotional Lollobrigida
Two symbolic figureheads stand out in particular. The 35-year-old Francesca Lollobrigida, because she is a young mother and embraced her two-and-a-half-year-old son Tommaso on the ice. "I'm living in a dream," enthused the Roman. "This is the best day of my life. Firstly, because my son, my husband and my whole family are here and then because I won on Italian soil."
Like Lollobrigida, Federica Brignone also made herself one of the Italian "donne d'oro" with her triumphs in the super-G and giant slalom. Her story is so special because her participation was in doubt for a long time after her serious crash at the Italian championships at the beginning of April.
Expectations exceeded
"At least 19 medals" was the target set by Luigi Buonfiglio, President of the National Olympic Committee, before the Games. "I never thought our team would be so strong." In the end, Italy came 4th in the medal table behind Norway, the USA and the Netherlands (10 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze, all in speed skating and short track).
Two places behind them is France, who will be hoping for a similar exploit at home in four years' time.
