Italy’s Olympic greats Tomba and Compagnoni to light cauldrons – report

Italian sporting icons Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni will light the cauldrons for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, according to a report on Wednesday.

Tomba, 59, and Compagnoni, 55, are both three-time Olympic alpine skiing gold medallists and hugely popular among Italians.

Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Tomba will light one of two cauldrons at Milan’s Arco della Pace at the end of Friday’s opening ceremony at the San Siro stadium in the city.

Compagnoni will be responsible for lighting the other cauldron, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s knots, in the centre of Cortina d’Ampezzo, 250 kilometres (155 miles) from Italy’s economic capital, in the Dolomites.

Known as “Tomba la Bomba”, or “Tomba the Bomb”, Tomba’s electric skiing made him a force in the slalom and giant slalom, the disciplines in which he won all five of his Olympic medals in the late 1980s and 1990s.

A flamboyant figure in Italian sport during his racing career, and still very popular, Tomba also won five Olympic medals and chalked up 50 World Cup victories, the overall World Cup Crystal Globe and two world championship titles before retiring aged 31.

Compagnoni also won three Olympic titles — Super-G in 1992, Giant Slalom in 1994 and 1998 — and three world championship titles.

When contacted by AFP to confirm this information, the local organising committee did not respond.

The opening ceremony will be held primarily at the San Siro, but will take place simultaneously at three other venues — Cortina d’Ampezzo, the other heart of these Olympics, as well as Livigno and Predazzo, venues for the snowboard and freestyle skiing events and nordic skiing.