In May 2022, the Italian Federation (FISI) unveiled their 9-person Milano Cortina 2026 Team and Elite A team including Lukas Hofer and Dorothea Wierer, focused on the home 2026 Olympic Winter Games. Simultaneously, they added Jonne Kahkonnen to work alongside Mirco Romanin on the women’s team while Fabrizio Curtaz became Milano Cortina Project Manager. With the Games over, how did this OWG push pan out over the past 1460 days?

The Milano Cortina group also included Lisa Vittozzi, Michela Carrara, Irene Lardschneider Tommaso Giacomel, Didier Bionaz, Hannah Auchentaller, Linda Zingerle, Patrick Braunhofer, Daniele Cappellari and David Zingerle.

When the dust settled, Italy’s Olympic team ended up consisting of Vittozzi, Wierer, Auchentaller, Carrara, Linda Zingerle, Hofer, Giacomel, Braunhofer, Elia Zeni and Nicola Romanin.

Gold and Silver medals

The Italians improved over the quadrennial but in reality, there was no magic jump to more medals or a challenge to Norway or France. The Italians won two medals at Milano Cortina, matching 2018, after taking a single medal in 2014 and 2022. Vittozzi’s Gold and the Mixed Relay Silver do represent federation high points as the previous four were all Bronze.

In World Cup competitions, the women closed the quadrennial fourth in the Nations Cup up from fifth in 2022. The men moved from eighth to fifth in the Nations Cup in the same period. Relays were the team’s strong point with 2023 IBU WCH Women’s Relay Gold, Mixed Silver, Single Mixed Bronze and several additional World Cup relay podiums.

Vittozzi Rises

Individually, Vittozzi, despite missing a full season continued progressing, literally rising from the ashes to the World Cup Total Score title and eight IBU WCH medals (including her first individual title in 2024/25) in the last two editions. She closed the four years on a very high note with Olympic Women’s Pursuit Gold, Mixed Relay Silver and third in the Total Score.

Fourth Medal for Wierer

Wierer struggled with illness over the last four years but rallied in her final year. Shooting like the old days, she picked up one more win, wore Yellow one last time, plus a couple additional podiums. Most importantly, she justified the last four years with her fourth Olympic medal, Mixed Relay Silver.

Hofer’s Strong Olympic Year

Hofer returned from multiple surgeries, with his best season in years, first podium since 2022, shooting at a career-best 86% and won his third Olympic Mixed Relay medal.

Giacomel’s Big Success

Giacomel was the big success of the past four years. Everyone knew his potential four years ago and he did not disappoint. The young Italian improved every season: bumping his shooting from 77% to 84%, winning four IBU WCH medals, as well as securing fifteen podiums including five victories (four in 2025/26). Despite missing the last trimester with heart issue, he wore the Yellow Bib for several weeks and led off the Olympic Silver Mixed Relay medal.

Personal Bests at Milan/Cortina

Beyond this elite four, Auchentaller and Carrara became solid World Cup competitors with both recording top ten results in recent seasons. Auchentaller was also on the 2023 IBU WCH Gold medal-winning Women’s Relay Team. The three male Olympians were obviously well-prepared for Milano Cortina. Romanin came out of IBU Cup obscurity to secure an Olympic berth and proceeded to get a career best in the Sprint and make his first-ever Mass Start at the age of 32! Braunhofer also recorded a PB in the Olympic 20 km, while Zeni recorded his second-best ever in the same competition.

Olympic Glory at Home

The push to Milan/Cortina may not have netted a big jump in medals but paved the way for their most experienced athletes to grab some Olympic glory on home soil. At the same time, it helped push others to personal bests, upgraded Südtirol Arena to another level for competitions and training, and definitely built interest and awareness for Italian biathlon.

Success is not always determined by the numbers alone, but intangibles and when everything is folded into one, the Italians can be proud of their progress in the past four years.

What comes next, as always depends on money, staff changes and who steps up and improves in the coming years. Stay tuned…

Photos: IBU/Vianney Thibaut, Ola Wizor, Nordic Focus