Simone Deromedis of Italy won gold in the men’s ski cross at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Saturday, February 21st, securing the host nation’s first ski cross medal and sparking jubilant celebrations in Livigno.
Deromedis, who narrowly missed qualification for the big final at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, finished ahead of his Italian teammate Federico Tomasoni, who claimed silver in a photo finish with Switzerland’s Alex Fiva. Fiva took bronze. The Italian duo’s one-two finish ignited the crowd, with both skiers collapsing in the snow after crossing the finish line.
“For the first time in history we did the first race of the season, one or two, the double podium is absolute and to do it at the Olympics, I wish to say it’s great, better than this, we couldn’t go [better],” Deromedis said, according to Olympics.com. Tomasoni echoed the sentiment, stating, “To share the medal with a friend, a big friend. And here is like my second home. There are many people here for us, for me. It’s really a dream coming true, but we don’t realize it [yet].”
The race unfolded in snowy conditions, with frequent contact between skiers on the winding 1.5 km course. The unpredictable nature of ski cross, known for its crashes and close competition, was on full display.
Alex Fiva, who won silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, secured his second consecutive Olympic medal, becoming the oldest men’s freeski medalist at age 40, surpassing his own record set in Beijing. “It was a really tough race,” Fiva said. “It was crazy, exhausting. My legs were burning after the first round.”
Japan’s Satoshi Furuno finished fourth, having impressed during qualifying as the second seed. A significant upset occurred earlier in the day with the elimination of Canadian Reece Howden, a pre-competition gold medal favorite, in the quarterfinals. Howden nearly collided with Tomasoni during an inside pass, hindering his progress.
Defending gold medalist Rya Regez of Switzerland was disqualified in the semi-finals after judges ruled he interfered with Furuno’s run. Daniela Maier of Germany won the women’s ski cross title on Friday, preceding the men’s final.
