Italy's Olympian-turned-Paralympian embraces second chance at podium in snowboard cross 작성일 03-03 25 목록 <div class="ab_photo photo_center ab_zoom"> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/03/0000085126_001_20260303143510024.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Emanuel Perathoner competes as a parasnowboarder. [SCREEN CAPTURE]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> Former Italian national-team snowboarder Emanuel Perathoner, 39, has lived two athletic lives: one as an Olympian and another as a Paralympian. <br> <br> Now he gets a rare chance to put an exclamation point on the second one at home. After Italy logged its best-ever result at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, finishing fourth in the overall medal standings when the Games ended on Feb. 22, attention is now shifting to the Winter Paralympics opening Saturday. Perathoner is among the athletes Italy is counting on to keep the momentum going. <br><br>Perathoner rose through Italy’s youth national team in snowboard cross before earning a spot-on the senior team. He competed at the 2014 Sochi and 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. In Sochi, his Olympic debut ended early after a collision with another rider during competition. In PyeongChang, he finished 15th without fully showing his best form, but later that year he won a FIS Snowboard World Cup, reaffirming his place among the world’s top snowboard cross riders. <br> <br> While preparing for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Perathoner suffered a devastating crash in 2021 that effectively ended his career as an Olympic snowboard cross athlete. He tore his left knee and suffered multiple fractures in his leg. He underwent four surgeries, including the insertion of an artificial joint, and spent a year and a half on crutches while rehabilitating. With an Olympic return no longer possible, he ultimately ended his chapter in snowboard cross. <br> <br> Afterward, his first goal was simple: just to walk again. Once he achieved that, he returned to snowboarding, even if he could not ride the way he once did. Still, getting back on the board rekindled his competitive drive. As he explored whether he could compete again, he learned that he was eligible to race as a para snowboarder. In a later interview, he described his disability not as an end, but as a turning point. <br> <br> <div class="ab_photo photo_center "> <div class="image"> <span class="end_photo_org"><img src="https://imgnews.pstatic.net/image/640/2026/03/03/0000085126_002_20260303143510113.jpg" alt="" /><em class="img_desc">Perathoner is hospitalized after suffering serious injuries, including multiple fractures in his left leg, during training in 2021. [SCREEN CAPTURE]</em></span> <span class="mask"></span> </div> </div> <br> True to his elite background, he quickly made his mark in para snowboarding. Perathoner debuted in para competition in November 2022 through the Europa Cup in the LL2 (lower-limb impairment) category, then went on to collect 15 World Cup wins. At the para snowboarding world championships last year, he won two gold medals, cementing his status as a leading gold-medal contender for these Paralympics. <br> <br> In a recent interview with Italian media, Perathoner expressed hope that his journey can inspire others with disabilities, while still keeping his competitive aim clear: two gold medals. Reflecting on his previous Olympic appearances, he noted that they largely ended with pin trading and watching other events, fueling a strong desire to stand on the top step of the podium this time. <br><br><i>This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.</i> 관련자료 이전 진수, H리그 3라운드 MVP…인천도시공사 ‘베스트팀’ 선정 03-03 다음 배드민턴 세계 12위 신두, 두바이 영공 막혀 최고 권위 전영오픈 기권 03-03 댓글 0 등록된 댓글이 없습니다. 로그인한 회원만 댓글 등록이 가능합니다.
