Alpine skiing is shaping up to be one of the biggest highlights of the 2026 Winter Olympics, running from February 6 to 22, as the Milano Cortina Games bring elite speed and technical precision to Italy’s iconic mountain slopes. The schedule is split between two legendary venues.

Women will be competing at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and the men’s event will be at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio.

Big names like Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn are expected to headline the field, promising plenty of drama and maybe even a few historic moments, while new challengers look ready to shake things up. But even with all that star power, Alberto Tomba’s name is gaining the most attention. Why?

Who is Alberto Tomba? Everything about the multiple gold medalist Italian alpine skier

Italy’s most successful Olympic alpine skiing star, Alberto Tomba, believes one thing will matter more than anything else at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games: preparation. And honestly, it’s hard not to take him seriously. When someone with his résumé talks about what it takes to win on the Olympic stage, people listen.

Born on December 19, 1966, in Bologna, Italy, Tomba built a career that still stands among the sport’s best.

He successfully defended his giant slalom title in 1992 and added a silver in the slalom that same year. At his third Winter Games in 1994, he picked up another silver, bringing his Olympic legacy total to five medals.

Many believe that if he had regularly raced downhill and Super-G, he might have added even more medals to his name. In 1995, he was awarded the Collare d’Oro for Sporting Merit by the Italian National Olympic Committee.

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The 59-year-old’s success didn’t stop at the Olympics.

At the World Championships, Tomba claimed four medals, including slalom and giant slalom titles in 1996 in Sierra Nevada, along with two bronze medals. On the World Cup circuit, he was just as dominant, racking up 50 wins in slalom and giant slalom and landing on the podium 88 times. Through 2020, he ranked fourth all-time among men in World Cup victories and sixth in total podium finishes.

Nicknamed “Tomba la Bomba,” or “Tomba the Bomb,” he became famous for his explosive, high-energy skiing style, especially in the technical events where he earned all five of his Olympic medals in the late ’80s and ’90s.

He was a flamboyant, larger-than-life figure in Italian sports, known for bold, off-the-cuff remarks and calling himself a “beast” and “the new messiah.” The son of a textile magnate from near Bologna, he once thrived on that swagger, though today he carries himself in a much calmer, more self-effacing way after retiring at 31.

Is he lighting the main cauldron at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Italian Olympic ski legends Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni (two of the most beloved athletes of their generation) are reportedly set to play a special role at the Milano Cortina Games.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the pair will have the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldrons. The report says Tomba has been tasked with lighting one of the two cauldrons at Milan’s Arco della Pace at the end of Friday’s opening ceremony, which will be held nearby at the San Siro stadium.

Compagnoni, meanwhile, is expected to light a second cauldron in Cortina d’Ampezzo, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from Milan, in the heart of the Dolomites. That cauldron is said to be inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s knots, adding a creative and symbolic touch to the ceremony.

However, when asked about the report, the Italian Olympic Committee said the final decision on who lights the cauldrons would be made at the last minute, and the local organizing committee did not respond to AFP’s request for confirmation.

Regardless of who ultimately gets the nod, the opening ceremony itself is shaping up to be unique. While the main event will take place at San Siro, celebrations will unfold simultaneously across three other locations – Cortina d’Ampezzo, plus Livigno and Predazzo, which will host the snowboard, freestyle skiing, and Nordic skiing competitions.