Oriol Cardona, a native of Banyoles born in 1994, has been proclaimed Olympic champion of mountain skiing at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games after winning the final held this Thursday in Bormio, Italy.
Victory in the Bormio final
Cardona crossed the finish line with a time of 234.0, winning the gold medal. Nikita Filippov took silver and Thibault Anselmet completed the podium with bronze. The race took place on the well-known Bormio circuit, where technical demands made the difference in the final meters.
In the first quarter-final series, Cardona already showed a solid rhythm by completing the course in 237.9 minutes, closely followed by Ot Ferrer, who finished 3.4 seconds behind. During the semi-final, Cardona finished in second position with a time of 236.1 minutes, finishing 1.17 seconds behind Jon Kistler. Ot Ferrer, also a Catalan representative, advanced to the final as a 'lucky loser'.
Track record and upcoming challenges
Cardona thus adds a new title to his record, where he already appears as a two-time world champion and European mountain ski champion. In 2025 he was proclaimed world sprint champion in Morgins and won the world silver in mixed relay, a result that allowed Spain to secure its Olympic presence in the discipline.
The athlete from Banyoles started the season with a victory in the Courchevel World Cup. This Saturday he will compete again in the mixed relay alongside Ana Alonso. The Spanish pairs for this modality will be Oriol Cardona and Ana Alonso, in addition to Maria Costa and Ot Ferrer.
In 2025, Cardona and Alonso were world runners-up and overall World Cup champions, consolidating their position in the international elite.
"I have bet everything to be here" - Oriol Cardona, skier
The gold medal achieved in Bormio reinforces Cardona's role as a benchmark for ski mountaineering in Catalonia and Spain. Local fans are closely following his progress, awaiting the results in this weekend's mixed relay.