Milano-Cortina 2026: Italy's sports greats look forward to 'Olympics of the Future'

As Beijing 2022 hands over the Olympic flag to Milano-Cortina 2026, Italian sporting heroes are looking forward to staging the greatest Winter multi-sport event on earth at home.

Italy will host the Winter Games for the third time after Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 and Torino 2006.

"Milano-Cortina will be the Olympics of the future," said three-time alpine skiing Olympic champion Deborah Compagnoni, who's also ambassador and advisor for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Foundation.

"This is the third time a Winter Games takes place in Italy and we’re looking forward to it. This is a great opportunity to showcase our mountains, our special places, this will be an ‘Italian’ Olympics."

"I think everybody's excited to go to Italy in the first place," said Arianna Fontana, Italy's most decorated Olympian with 11 medals.

"I'm sure we will be able to give athletes and fans something amazing, something incredible."

The short track legend is one of the Italian Olympians who starred at Beijing 2022 and are now sharing their desire to compete in front of the home crowd in four years' time.

"I'm pretty excited," said two-time downhill Olympic medallist Sofia Goggia, who announced that Milano-Cortina 2026 will be her last Games.

"I was part of the [Milano-Cortina 2026] delegation in Lausanne in June 2019, on the day when we brought home the Olympic Games," she remembers.

Goggia and fellow Olympic gold medallist, snowboarder Michela Moioli, had a crucial role in winning over voters as they made a joint speech in front of the members of the International Olympic Committee.

"For sure, the Olympic Games at home are something that are not going to happen so often in your career, and I will really focus on the preparation and set perfect goals for these