Five-time Olympic medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri lit the torch to ignite the relay for the 2026 Winter Olympics in his home country of Italy.
See a picture of the 31-year-old distance swimming icon at the cauldron in Rome’s Foro Italico here.
Paltrinieri was the first of 10,001 torch carriers, who together will carry the flame around all 110 Italian provinces in the next two months. The relay will culminate in Milan, where the opening ceremony will take place on February 6, 2026. Olympic events will take place in Italy’s largest city as well as Dolomite resort Cortina d’Ampezzo.
A medalist at three consecutive Summer Olympics for Italy, Paltrinieri told the Associated Press that he has dabbled in winter sports.
“I used to ski when I was when I was a kid,” the nine-time World Champion remarked. “But then you know for obvious reasons I stopped skiing because it’s a little bit dangerous for me.”
After Paltrinieri did a lap around Stadio dei Marmi, the torch went to two other Italian Olympic champions: Elisa Di Francisca (2012, fencing) and Gianmarco Tamberi (2020, high jump). Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni stood alongside the athletes as the torch began its 12,000 kilometer (7,450 mile) journey.
Paltrinieri’s first medal came in the 1500 final of the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympics. He picked up two more medals in the 800 and open water event in Tokyo, then earned another two in the 800/1500 in Paris. He has earned medals at every single World Championships from 2013 onward. His LC 1500 time of 14:32.80 stands as the 4th fastest performer in history.
Italy selected Paltrinieri and his partner, Olympic fencer Rossella Fiamingo, carried Italy’s flag at the closing ceremonies in Paris.
