Catalan athlete Oriol Cardona Coll made history at the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, securing the first-ever Olympic gold medal in men’s sprint ski mountaineering as the discipline debuted spectacularly.
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Under heavy snowfall on the demanding Bormio course, the 31-year-old from Banyoles dominated the final, decisively pulling away from his rivals after the first ascent. This victory marks a monumental moment for both Catalan and Spanish winter sports, as it represents only Spain’s second Winter Olympics gold medal. Francisco “Paquito” Fernández Ochoa previously achieved alpine skiing triumph in 1972.
Cardona, the reigning world champion, entered the event with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. After crossing the finish line, he described an overwhelming sense of relief.
“It’s hard to know what to say, I’ve worked so hard for this medal,” he said, according to reporting from Ara.cat. “I was eager to get this final over with, and luckily it went very well. To arrive and know you are the champion… it’s incredible.”
Nikita Filippov, competing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, took silver, and France’s Thibault Anselmet claimed bronze to complete the podium. Spain further showcased its strength in the new Olympic sport. Another Catalan athlete, Ot Ferrer, secured fifth place and an Olympic diploma after a strong performance throughout the day.
A Catalan Legacy in the Mountains
Cardona’s victory culminates more than two decades of dedicated work within Catalan ski mountaineering, often known as ‘skimo’. The foundation for this success began in 1997 with the creation of a specialist training centre in the Catalan Pyrenees, a project driven by alpinist Jordi Canals. This programme nurtured a generation of talent, most famously the legendary mountain athlete Kilian Jornet.
“Kilian showed us the way, we quickly saw that he was special. He brought us to the top division of this sport,” Canals has previously explained.
Cardona followed in Jornet’s footsteps, eventually training with him and honing his craft at a high-performance centre in Font-Romeu, France, where winter sports benefit from more robust support.
“The times I trained with him were a brutal learning experience,” Cardona said of Jornet. “In terms of technique and sporting mentality, he is a genius.”
Hailing from a family of mountaineers—his father, Joan, has summited Mount Everest twice—Cardona initially split his time between ski mountaineering and trail running. However, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation’s successful bid to include the sport in the Olympics provided him with a clear focus.
“Knowing that ski mountaineering would be Olympic was key,” he stated.
Flag Controversy and Future Hopes
However, the historic day faced a minor controversy. During the final, security officials reportedly ordered Cardona and Ferrer’s friends and family to remove several estelades — the unofficial flag associated with the Catalan independence movement — from the spectator area, as first reported by Ara.cat.
Despite this, celebrations focused on the athletic achievements. Just minutes before Cardona’s win, Andalusia’s Ana Alonso Rodriguez initiated the Spanish team’s medal haul by winning bronze in the women’s sprint. Her medal marks an incredible comeback story after she suffered a severe knee ligament tear and several broken bones in a cycling accident in September.
Cardona and Alonso will now team up to compete for a second medal in the mixed relay event on Saturday, aiming to cap off an already unforgettable Olympic debut for the sport.
