The flame is getting closer to Rome, and the list of its future torchbearers is growing. The Milan-Cortina 2026 organizing committee has announced that two big names in Italian sport will have the honor of participating in the relay. The first: Jasmin PaoliniA finalist at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in 2024 in singles, the 29-year-old tennis player won her first Grand Slam title this year, in doublesin Paris with her compatriot Sara Errani. The duo works well since the two women had won Olympic gold, already on the Parisian clay, in July 2024.
Born in the same year, 1996, Filippo Ganna is among the best cyclists on the planetOlympic champion in the team pursuit in Tokyo, he also shines on the road with two world time trial championship titles (2020 and 2021), stage wins on the Giro and the Vuelta, as well as two podium finishes on the Monument Milan-San Remo (2nd in 2023 and 2025).
legends of Milanese football Also receiving this honor are Zlatan Ibrahimovic (three-time Italian champion with Inter and two with AC Milan), Andrea Ranocchia (223 appearances for Inter), and Filippo Inzaghi (sixth-highest scorer in AC Milan's history with 126 goals). TV presenters Melissa Satta and Alessandro Cattelan, comedian Leonardo Fiaschi, karateka Luigi Busa, racing driver Antonio Giovinazzi, musician Boss Doms, entrepreneur Lavinia Biagiotti, and Swiss footballer Alisha Lehmann, who plays for Como, are also among those included on the list unveiled Tuesday.
