Spain Ends Long 54-Year Wait For Winter Olympic Gold With Inaugural Men’s Ski Mountaineering Gold

Spain last won a gold medal in the 1972 Sapporo Olympics when Francisco Fernández Ochoa won the men’s slalom in the alpine skiing event.

Spain Ends Long 54-Year Wait For Winter Olympic Gold With Inaugural Men’s Ski Mountaineering Gold

Oriol Cardona Coll (Image via @milanocortina26 on X)

In Short
  • Spain wins its first Winter Olympic gold in 54 years with Oriol Cardona Coll's victory in men's ski mountaineering.
  • Coll finished the race in 2:34.0, defeating Russian Nikita Filippov by 1.52 seconds.
  • Ana Alonso also secured a bronze medal in the women's sprint, marking Spain's best Winter Olympics performance with two medals.

After a long wait of 54 years, Spain recorded its first Winter Olympic gold with Oriol Cardona Coll stamping a gold in the men’s ski mountaineering sprint at the Stelvio Ski Course in Valtellina. Minutes earlier, Switzerland’s Marianne Fatton had won the women’s sprint, pushing the top favorite Emily Harrop of France to a silver medal.

After a set of challenging heats and semifinals in the heavy snow and frigid temperatures, Coll, crossing the line in 2:34.0, defeated Russian Nikita Filippov, who’s racing as an Individual Neutral Athlete, with around 1.52 seconds separating them. Coll held on to the lead he scooped up in the cross-country part of the race as he navigated the stairs and slid down the slalomed downhill.

Thibault Anselmet of France completed the podium with bronze. Anselmet was the reigning champion, having won the overall ISMF World Cup in the past three years. Cardona Coll said after winning the gold medal:

The feeling is amazing. I’ve been dreaming about being here, about winning the race a lot of times and finally the dream has come true It means a lot for us as a country. Also means a lot for the ski mountaineering family to be here.

Coll became the first Spaniard to win a Winter Olympic gold since 1972 in Sapporo when Francisco Fernández Ochoa won gold in the men’s slalom in the alpine skiing event. It was the only medal in Spain’s Winter Olympic history for more than two decades before his sister won a bronze in 1992.

In the women’s sprint earlier, behind Fatton and Harrop, it was Spain’s Ana Alonso, who won bronze. Alonso’s bronze was Spain’s first medal in the Winter Olympics 2026 as well. Ot Ferrer, who competed alongside Coll in the ski mountaineering sprint, finished fifth in the event.

Oriol Cardona Coll and Ana Alonso return to action in the mixed relay

The Milan-Cortina 2026 is already the best performing year for the Mediterranean nation with two medals, a gold and a bronze. In 2018, in PyeongChang, Spain won two bronze medals, Javier Fernández in the men’s singles and Regino Hernández in the men’s snowboard cross.

Ana Alonso (Image via abc_es on X)
Ana Alonso (Image via abc_es on X)

There’s a chance to add a medal and record three in a single edition for the first time. Oriol Cardona Coll and Ana Alonso will be returning to the Stelvio slopes once again in the ski mountaineering mixed relay.

In the ski mountaineering events, there are two parts to it: an ascent and a descent. In the ascent, they make an ascent up a slope on the skis before transitioning into tackling a set of stairs on foot. Once they reach the top, they return to skis and glide down a slalomed downhill.

In a mixed relay, there will be two athletes, a male and a female mountaineer. The woman starts first, completing the course once before tagging the male to complete the course. Both athletes will complete two courses, and the first individual to cross the finish line will be adjudged the winner.

The Spanish pair are one of the favorites to win the event on February 21, 2025, having finished second in the ISMF World Championships in Morgins last year. Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet won the race, crossing the line in 32:44.10. Harrop and Anselmet also won the World Cup relay in the Boí Taüll Resort in the heart of the Pyrenees just ahead of the Olympics.

Coll and Alonso were second in their home race as well, mere seconds separating them from a win. On Saturday, it will be a tough fight between the French pair and the Spaniards, looking for one more medal to add to their tally.

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