Native of Cortina, the former ski champion is one of the 'hosts' of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics
Ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, speed is the right word to talk about one of the 'hosts': Kristian Ghedina. Whether on skis or in a car (where he raced in the Italian Superturismo Championship toward the end of his skiing career), the formidable Italian downhill specialist - originally from Cortina - has lived his entire sporting career under the sign of adrenaline on the slopes - and on the track. A genuine champion from Ampezzo, ready to welcome participants to the next Winter Olympics with his unfailing charisma and charm, conveying all his love for sports.
A family of skiers (with him being the most successful)
There is a very strong bond between Ghedina and his home-town, which will be strengthened even more in the days of the 25th Winter Olympics in 2026. Kristian is the son of Angelo and the unforgettable Adriana Dipol - the first female ski instructor of Cortina d'Ampezzo - and the youngest in a family of skiers, along his older sister Katia, also a specialist of fast-paced skiing. However, the lion's share certainly belongs to Kristian, with his 33 podiums (and 13 wins) in the World Cup and 3 World medals, celebrating a career spanning more than 20 years and ending in 2010, with his last race at the Italian Alpine Ski Championships in Falcade.
Kristian's first victory in his home-town, Cortina
As in his childhood dreams, in 1990, when he was just 21 years old, Kristian achieved his first World Cup downhill success, in Cortina, his hometown, on the slope that will be the venue for the women's Alpine speed skiing races at the next 2026 Winter Olympics, beating Swiss Daniel Mahrer by just 16 hundredths. That was only the first in a series of legendary first places, which have propelled Ghedina among the best downhill skiers ever. His record of 12 downhill wins (plus one in Super-G) ranks him second in the all-time ranking of Italian specialists in this discipline, beaten only by Dominik Paris's 18 successes, who will experience all the excitement of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on the slopes. A legendary career, which saw its last hit in December 2001, on another mind-blowing slope for the skier from Cortina: the 'Saslong' run in Val Gardena.
The Saslong roe deer
The Val Gardena slope was undoubtedly one of Ghedina's favourites throughout his career, and there he raked up four World Cup wins. The penultimate appearance in Val Gardena, however, turned into magic, when in the final schuss of the Saslong, Ghedina was flanked by a roe deer that was crossing the slope as he passed by. In the aftermath of the race and in the days that followed, the buzz won't be much about Ghedina's 12th place, 1”19 behind the winner, Max Rauffer, but rather about such a special goodbye.
Kristian Ghedina, Italy, alpine skiing, Olympic Winter Games Nagano 1998
Milan and Ghedina: from the accident to his rebirth
Things could have gone quite differently for Kristian Ghedina, however, this story also links him somehow to Milan, the other host city of the 2026 Winter Olympics. In 1991, he was rescued by the Rho Hospital, after a frightening motorway accident that left him in a coma for nine days. After a long rehabilitation and with the fortitude that has always characterised him even on piste, Kristian not only got back on skis, but also managed to earn the points required to participate in the 1992 Albertville Olympics, in just a few months' time.
The spread eagle on the Streif and Deromedis' homage
Kristian could tell plenty of stories to the athletes competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics - or to the fans who will be lucky enough to cross paths with him on the slopes or at the venues of the next Olympic and Paralympic competitions. But more than his victories, it was courage that indissolubly imprinted Ghedina's feats in the minds of his fans. The daring spread eagle on the last jump of the legendary Streif, in Kitzbuehel, at over 137 kilometres per hour, is simply unforgettable: a technical gesture of rare beauty and precision that earned him a standing ovation from the Austrian fans. The feat was replicated in Beijing 2022 by Simone Deromedis, the youngest competitor in men's skicross, who finished fifth. In the final, the athlete from Trentino greeted the public by making a spread eagle, just like Ghedina, 18 years earlier.
Commitment to Milano Cortina 2026
In a relationship with former Italian skier Patrizia Auer, Kristian Ghedina is the father of Natan and Brayan, born in 2020 and 2023. A well-known TV personality (he has taken part in various Mediaset and Sky productions, including the latest edition of Beijing Express), he opened a ski school in Cortina d'Ampezzo, which he runs with his usual passion. Also worth mentioning is his commitment in view of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics: he is the director of the San Pellegrino University Foundation's executive master course in 'Hospitality and Events of the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games', to provide the necessary tools and skills to face the logistical, organisational and communication challenges of an event of international scope, such as the next Olympics. 'This is my first experience in this role and I am very excited. I am sure that, by studying and applying themselves, our students will be able to achieve great things', said Kristian. He is indeed a truly exceptional maestro.
