‘Forza Azzurri’: Italy Tops Medal Table with Record 11 Golds in Gangwon 2024
GANGNEUNG — Italy finished atop the medal table at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games with a record 11 golds in five different sports.
It was the first time Italy topped the medal table at any Olympic event going back to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896.
“It is a great result for our country,” said Alessio Palombi, Italy’s chef de mission in Gangwon, said Thursday (1st February) on the final day of the YOG. “It is the result of hard work that started many years ago.”
Italy had previously never won more than two gold medals at a winter YOG. The results in South Korea bode well for Italy’s prospects at the next Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina 2026.
“The Ganwon 2024 triumphs lay the foundation for what will be the senior athletes of the next four years,” Palombi said.
The “Azzurri” won a total of 18 medals — 11 gold, four bronze and three silver. Germany finished second in the gold medal count with nine, followed by South Korea with seven. In overall medals, the United States finished first with 21, followed by Germany with 20 and Italy, France and China with 18.
“We knew we were coming to South Korea with some very good athletes,” Palombi said. “Many of them had already distinguished themselves in their respective disciplines. We knew we had a very good team but we had to prove it on the field.”
The Italians won four gold medals in luge, two each in biathlon, alpine and freestyle skiing, and one in cross-country skiing. They also claimed medals in a sixth discipline, taking silver and bronze in Nordic combined.
“Being on the podium in so many sports shows that Italy is competitive in many disciplines,” Palombi said. “We are not a nation that focuses on a few sports. We are versatile and this allows us to have a range of opportunities. For example, at Gangwon 2024 we won in sports such as freestyle in which we had not been successful before.”
Palombi said a few of the Italian medal winners from Gangwon 2024 could potentially compete in Milano Cortina. One example is freestyle skier Flora Tabanelli, who won two golds in big air and slopestyle.
“On average our young athletes reach the Olympic Game between four and eight years after participating in the YOG,” Palombi said.
What is certain is that the Gangwon 2024 results are a great promotion for the upcoming Games in Italy.
As Palombi put it: “They are a good calling card for Milan Cortina 2026.”
