Tomba and Compagnoni share honour of lighting Milan cauldron

Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two of Italy’s greatest Alpine skiers, shared the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron in Milan on Friday.

Tomba, 59, and Compagnoni, who is 55, were part of a golden age of Italian skiing and both won Olympic titles at the Albertville Games in 1992.

Tomba and Compagnoni lit the flame at Milan’s Arco della Pace, a 19th-century arch at the entrance to Parco Sempione, about 4 km (2.5 miles) east of San Siro stadium. A second cauldron was lit in Cortina d’Ampezzo by another Italian former Olympic champion, Sofia Goggia.

Hailing from the northern city of Bologna, Tomba was an outlier in a sport dominated by mountain folk. His penchant for playing to the crowd made him one of Italy’s best known sportsmen.

Compagnoni comes from the mountains of northern Italy, and the choice of the pair fits with the idea of harmony between different regions, one of the themes of the Games.

‘TOMBA LA BOMBA’ WAS TV FAVOURITE

For Tomba, victory in Albertville followed two golds won in Calgary in 1988.

Compagnoni went on to win golds in Lillehammer in 1994, where she was the flag bearer for the Italian team, and in Nagano four years later.

Tomba is considered one of the greatest specialists in technical disciplines, slalom and giant slalom, in the history of Alpine skiing.

He stood out with an aggressive and spectacular style that earned him the nickname “Tomba la Bomba” (“Tomba the Bomb”).

Italian TV even interrupted its broadcast of the hugely popular Sanremo musical festival in 1988 in order to show one of Tomba’s winning runs.

“Tomba deserves it for his career and his iconic status in Italian winter sports. There is no one else like him,” said Italian short track speed skater Thomas Nadalini, speaking after an initial report of the choice.

COMPAGNONI IS A SYMBOL OF RESILIENCE

Near contemporaries, the pair were friends despite the differences in character between the showman Tomba and the more reserved Compagnoni.

Compagnoni suffered a serious knee injury the day after winning her Albertville gold in the Super G.

Tomba recalled in a recent interview with Corriere della Sera that he had phoned to console her, suggesting that they celebrate together as Olympic champions despite her injury.

Compagnoni is a symbol of resilience, having overcome a series of serious injuries and other personal crises.

She experienced a tragic family loss in 2021, when her brother Jacopo died after being swept away by an avalanche during a ski mountaineering excursion.

She married Italian entrepreneur Alessandro Benetton, chairman of the family company that controls the fashion group of the same name. They are now divorced.

These days her passions are ski mountaineering, like Tomba, and climbing, she told La Repubblica, doing less Alpine skiing because of persistent knee pain.

“I no longer have the muscles I once had, but sport has taught me self-discipline. And I don’t lead a lazy life: I remain a curious woman,” she said.