Emanuel Perathoner Secures Paralympic Gold in Milan-Cortina
Emanuel Perathoner, an athlete who has competed in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, added a significant achievement to his career on Sunday by winning his first Paralympic gold medal. The Italian Para-snowboarder dominated the men's LL2 (lower limb) snowboard cross event, earning Italy its first gold medal at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics.
Perathoner is part of a rare group of around 20 athletes worldwide who have competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics, and he is only the second athlete to participate in both Winter Games.
At 39 years old, Perathoner had just completed his second Olympic Games eight years prior. A World Championship medallist in 2019, he was preparing for his third Olympic appearance in Beijing 2022 and had secured his first World Cup title in the meantime. However, a severe crash one year before the Beijing Games resulted in a devastating knee injury and multiple fractures in his left leg, effectively ending his Olympic career.
Following the accident, Perathoner's initial focus was on rehabilitation and relearning to walk. Despite undergoing a total knee replacement, he initially did not consider himself eligible for Paralympic competition, believing he "still had all the pieces of my body." His perspective changed during a visit to a training camp in Stelvio, where Italy's Para-snowboard team was training. This experience inspired him to pursue a career in Para-snowboarding.
"I knew something about the Paralympic world, but until you're in it, you don't realize how competitive it is: how ignorant I was," Perathoner told Italian outlet La Gazzetta.
He made his Para-snowboard debut in late 2022. Despite limited mobility in his knee and ankle, Perathoner has since amassed 31 World Cup medals across various disciplines and won three World Championship gold medals.
Coming into the Paralympics as a strong favorite in both the snowboard cross and the upcoming banked slalom event scheduled for Saturday, Perathoner had only been defeated three times since 2024. In Cortina, he demonstrated his dominance by advancing smoothly through each round and finishing the final more than three seconds ahead of Australia's silver medallist Ben Tudhope. Korea's Lee Jehyuk secured the bronze medal.
"I'm super happy to bring home the gold medal in my home country. It's so close to my hometown, so [doing it] in front of my family, that was the best part," Perathoner said.
"I was hearing all the crowd cheering for us riders. Not just for me, but for everybody. I think that was the most emotional moment.
"I thought: the last four years have been totally worth it. All the work that I was putting in, and all the travelling, all the time away from home, it was totally worth it."
Cecile Hernandez Defends Paralympic Title at Age 51
Just moments before Perathoner's victory, France's Cecile Hernandez secured her second consecutive gold medal in the women's equivalent snowboard cross event. At 51 years old, Hernandez added to her impressive Paralympic career, which began in 2014.
Her latest gold comes 12 years after winning her first Paralympic medal, a silver at the Sochi Games, and brings her total Paralympic medal count to five across four Games.
Hernandez's 18-year-old daughter, Victoire-Eleonore, attended the Paralympics for the first time to witness her mother's achievement. Hernandez narrowly defeated American Kate Delson, with China's Wang Xinyu taking the bronze medal.
"It's incredible and I still can't realise what happened," said Hernandez, who lives with multiple sclerosis.
"I'm very, very, very proud. My daughter is here, and my dream was to see some tears, but tears of joy in my daughter's eyes and on her face. I did it, and this medal is for her.
"I tried to have a big smile on the podium, but, finally, there were just tears, but tears of joy, tears of work and tears of sacrifice too. But, finally, tears of happiness."
Additional Information
Perathoner is scheduled to compete again on Saturday in the banked slalom event, aiming to add another medal to his Paralympic success.
For further details on the Winter Paralympics and what to expect from the 2026 Games, readers can explore and coverage.
