Paltrinieri Starts 2026 Milano Cortina Torch Relay

ROME, Italy – Olympic swimming champion Gregorio Paltrinieri ignited the torch relay for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games on Saturday, marking the start of a 12,000-kilometer journey across Italy exactly two months before the February 6 opening ceremony in Milan.

The flame, lit last month in ancient Olympia, Greece, arrived in Rome on Thursday and was formally handed over to Italian organizers during a ceremony at the Quirinale Palace on Friday, attended by President Sergio Mattarella and International Olympic Committee representative Kirsty Coventry. Paltrinieri, a five-time Olympic medalist who carried Italy's flag at the Paris 2024 closing ceremony, carried the sleek, aerodynamic torch – crafted from recycled aluminum and steel to emphasize sustainability – around the track of the historic Stadio dei Marmi at Rome's Foro Italico. The stadium, inaugurated in 1932 and surrounded by marble statues of athletes, served as the symbolic launch point for the relay.

Paltrinieri was the first of 10,001 torchbearers who will traverse all 110 provinces and more than 300 municipalities over the next 63 days, passing through 60 cities for special celebrations. He was followed by fellow...