Oriol Cardona wins Spain's first gold medal at the 2026 Olympics

Spain has won its second gold medal in history at the Winter Olympic Games being held in Milan and Cortina. Catalan athlete Oriol Cardona became the country’s first Olympic champion in the debut discipline of ski alpinism.

The final sprint race took place in Bormio, Italy, in challenging weather conditions, with wet snow and strong winds. Despite this, the 31-year-old athlete from Banyoles showed complete dominance at every stage of the competition.

In the final, Cardona crossed the finish line in 2:34.0, comfortably ahead of his rivals. Silver went to Russian athlete Nikita Filippov, while France’s Thibaut Anselme took bronze.

The Spaniard progressed confidently through the quarter-finals, posting the fastest time in his heat, and then dealt calmly with the semi-final despite a minor technical issue during one of the transitions. In the decisive race, Cardona made a powerful surge before the first transition zone, overtaking the Swiss competitors and opening up a lead of almost three seconds, which he maintained all the way to the finish.

This victory became Spain’s first gold medal in winter sports in 54 years, since the triumph of alpine skier Francisco Fernández Ochoa in 1972.

For Cardona, the Olympics are not over yet. On Saturday, he will compete in the mixed relay alongside Ana Alonso.