Mauro Nespoli among archers carrying the Olympic torch ahead of Milano Cortina 2026
Italian Olympic medallist Mauro Nespoli carried the Olympic torch for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in his home region of Pavia, Italy on 14 January.
He is one of several archers to take part in the relay marking the build-up to both the Winter and Summer Games.
“It was a great honour to be selected as a torchbearer,” said Nespoli. “Hosting the Games in Italy is certainly very exciting, and being part of this movement once again is a huge incentive to aim for Los Angeles and my sixth Games.”
As usual, the Olympic torch relay features athletes and other figures carrying the flame around the host country ahead of the cauldron lighting at the opening ceremony. For Milano Cortina 2026, the relay began at the end of November in Greece – the birthplace of the Olympic Games – and will continue across Italy until the opening ceremony on 6 February.
Nespoli described the moment as highly emotional, running the final 200 metres between San Martino Siccomario and Pavia in front of family, friends and crowds lining the streets – an experience he said would remain an indelible memory.
“Seeing the same emotion in the eyes of the people present that I felt during the opening ceremony in Beijing reinforces how much the Olympics unite the world.”
“I really like all the sports that will be competing in the Winter Games. I have skied a few times in the past, but with very poor results,” he laughed. “I am fascinated by curling, its precision and strategy. Could it be any other way?”
After Nespoli’s leg in Pavia, his teammate and fellow Tokyo 2020 Olympic individual medallist Lucilla Boari carried the torch on 19 January in her hometown of Mantua, along the ‘Prince’s Road’ (La Via del Principe).
“Being at home and walking with the Olympic flame in my hand along that stretch made the experience incredibly important and exciting,” said Boari.
One of the most decorated archers in history, London 2012 gold medallist Michele Frangilli also carried the torch on 15 January by Lake Maggiore, at the base of the Italian Alps, calling it “a once-in-a-lifetime experience – and one that means even more to me, having participated in four Olympic Games as an athlete.”
Earlier in the relay, Paralympian Eleonora Sarti carried the torch on a 200-metre leg in central Bologna on 10 January.
“I was very happy to have been contacted because of the values I try to convey in sport and in life,” said the 2015 World Archery Para Champion. “I was incredulous and really excited, and until I had the torch in my hand, I couldn’t believe it.”
“There were people shouting my name and cheering me on behind me, the towers were lit up, and I had the lit torch in my hand. It was an immense thrill,” she added.
They follow 2016 Olympian Claudia Mandia, who carried the torch in Salerno on 21 December, and Greek six-time Olympian Evangelia Psarra, who took part in a leg in Thessaloniki on 2 December.
Paralympians Stefano Travisani and Francesco Tomaselli, along with para archer and multisport athlete Dalia Demano, are also set to carry the flame in the build-up to the Games.
Archers have played a role in previous Olympic torch relays, as well as serving as flagbearers at opening ceremonies.
Marcus D’Almeida carried the torch in São Paulo ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, while six-time Olympian Alison Williamson did so before London 2012, alongside fellow British athletes Naomi Folkard, Paralympian Mel Clarke and compounder Nicky Hunt.
Bérengère Schuh was part of the torch relay ahead of Paris 2024, as was Paralympian Fabrice Meunier.
Archer Margaret Maughan, the first-ever British Paralympic gold medallist in 1960, was given the honour of lighting the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
Most famously, Paralympian Antonio Rebollo lit the Olympic flame at Barcelona 1992 with a flaming arrow – one of the most iconic moments in Olympic and archery history.
There are no archery events at the Winter Olympic Games, although it has previously been suggested that ski archery – a form of biathlon using recurve bows instead of rifles – could one day feature on the programme.
The opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games takes place on 6 February.
