Italy's Tomba and Compagnoni share honour of lighting Milan cauldron

MILAN, Feb 6 : Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two of Italy's greatest Alpine skiers, shared the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldron in Milan on Friday.

Tomba, 59, and Compagnoni, who is 55, were part of a golden age of Italian skiing and both won Olympic titles at the Albertville Games in 1992.

Tomba and Compagnoni lit the flame at Milan’s Arco della Pace, a 19th-century arch at the entrance to Parco Sempione, about 4 km (2.5 miles) east of San Siro stadium. A second cauldron was lit in Cortina d’Ampezzo by another Italian former Olympic champion, Sofia Goggia.

Hailing from the northern city of Bologna, Tomba was an outlier in a sport dominated by mountain folk. His penchant for playing to the crowd made him one of Italy's best known sportsmen.

Compagnoni comes from the mountains of northern Italy, and the choice of the pair fits with the idea of harmony between different regions, one of the themes of the Games.

'TOMBA LA BOMBA' WAS TV FAVOURITE

For Tomba, victory in Albertville followed two golds won in Calgary in 1988.

Compagnoni went on to win golds in Lillehammer in 1994, where she was the flag bearer for the Italian team, and in Nagano four years later.

Tomba is considered one of the greatest specialists in technical disciplines, slalom and giant slalom, in the history of Alpine skiing.

He stood out with an aggressive and spectacular style that earned him the nickname "Tomba la Bomba" ("Tomba the Bomb").

Italian TV even interrupted its broadcast of the hugely popular Sanremo musical festival in 1988 in order to show one of Tomba's winning runs.

"Tomba deserves it for his career and his iconic status in Italian winter sports. There is no one else like him," said Italian short track speed skater Thomas Nadalini,