On Tuesday, 15 July at 3.30 p.m., Milano Cortina 2026 unveiled the medals for the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
The medals, which were revealed during an event in Venice, (capital of Veneto, one of the host regions of the Games), presented by Olympian and Head of the Ambassador Programme for Milano Cortina 2026, Valentina Marchei, are a celebration of Italian design and victory through the Italian spirit.
Two legends of sport, Federica Pellegrini, double Olympic medallist and Italy’s most successful swimmer, and Francesca Porcellato, who won 15 Paralympic medals after participating in 13 Summer and Winter Games, accompanied the medals by boat on their journey to the grand unveiling.
The pair travelled with the medals from Venice Santa Lucia station to the historic Palazzo Balbi on the Canal Grande, where the reveal event took place.
Developed by the design team of Milano Cortina 2026, the medals of the Games embody “the determination and passion of the world’s greatest athletes, but also Olympic and Paralympic spirit,” explained Raffaella Paniè, Brand, Identity and Look of the Games Director for Milano Cortina 2026.
The medals, which bring together elegance, visual impact and sustainability, will be crafted by the Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute (IPZS) using recycled metal recovered from its own production waste. They will be cast in induction furnaces powered entirely by renewable energy, with eco-friendly packaging made with FSC-certified materials and minimal use of plastics.
“The medals we have created to celebrate the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games represent the mastery and excellence of Italian design. Each one is a unique piece, the result of craftsmanship and innovation,” said Paolo Perrone, President of the Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute.
“The Milano Cortina 2026 medals place the athlete at the centre of the story, expressing the universality of sport, the struggle, and the emotion of victory.”
The design places emotion and teamwork at its core, symbolising not only the union of two cities, Milan and Cortina, but also the soul of victory and the effort it takes to achieve it. The medals feature two halves brought together by the Olympic and Paralympic values, reflecting the culmination of an athlete’s journey and all of those who stood by their side along the way.
“An Olympic medal is never just a piece of metal,” said Italian rhythmic gymnast and two-time Olympic bronze medallist, Alessia Maurelli. “For me, it holds every “early morning” when giving up seemed easier than moving forward… but we chose to keep going.
“It’s proof that dreams can survive time, doubt, and even fear.”
“I remember the design of each medal,” said French biathlete, Martin Fourcade, winner of seven Olympic medals in Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014 and PyeongChang 2018. “It’s important, it’s something we mush cherish as an athlete. We have to like them, not only as a symbol but visually too. I loved the whole three I won, at a different time of my career.”
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