The Olympic torch relay for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games was ceremoniously launched on Saturday with Italian swimming gold medalist Gregorio Paltrinieri and high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi leading the symbolic procession.
The Olympic Flame officially began its journey in Rome's historic Stadio dei Marmi, bound for the Winter Olympics in Italy's northern region.
Paltrinieri, the 1500-meter freestyle Olympic champion, received the first torch before passing it to Tamberi, Tokyo 2020's shared high jump gold medalist, in a moment celebrating Italy's athletic excellence.
"It's amazing, I'm very happy and proud to be one of the very first here in Italy," said Tamberi.
"It should bring all the people together. We are playing, we are battling against other people from all over the world but with respect, so that's the point of the Olympics," said Paltrinieri.
The two athletes are the first of 10,001 torchbearers who will carry the flame across Italy's diverse landscapes over the coming months. The relay will traverse approximately 12,000 kilometers through more than 60 locations, including UNESCO World Heritage sites, coastal regions and Alpine communities, before concluding at Milan's San Siro Stadium on Feb 6, 2026.
Organizers emphasized the emotional significance of the flame's return to Italian soil after being lit last month in Greece.
"Every day starting from Olympia, passing through the Panathenaic Stadium and then when we arrived on Italian soil and then yesterday at the Quirinale Square, it's a new emotion," said Giovanni Malago, president of the Milano Cortina Foundation 2026.
"It's a lot of emotion that gives us the right energy to go on the next 60 days because there is still a lot of work to do," said Andrea Varnier, CEO of the foundation.
Crowds turned out to send off the relay, with onlookers expressing feelings of inspiration as the flame passed through the historic monuments of Rome.
"It's always a pleasure to see this symbol, this icon of the Olympic Games," said a spectator.
"I think it symbolizes peace in all the countries, the fact that everyone is gathering here today," another said.
The relay will include a commemorative stop in Cortina d'Ampezzo on Jan 26, 2026, exactly 70 years after the town hosted Italy's first Winter Olympics in 1956. This symbolic connection between past and present highlights how the flame bridges generations of Italian athletic tradition.
Olympic champions ignite torch relay for Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games
