Val Gardena has an Olympic medal

Val Gardena is extremely proud of the bronze medal recently won by the local Nadia Delago in the downhill alpine skiing event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.But who is Nadia Delago? We asked and the Val Gardena native describes herself as follows:

.. was born on November 12, 1997 in Brixen in South Tyrol. I grew up in the middle of the Dolomites in Selva, where I am still at home today. Since both the mountains and the ski slopes are on my doorstep, I started skiing at the age of three, a passion that I have shared with my sister Nicol from an early age. Ever since I was a child I dreamed of becoming a professional skier and I was always determined and never willing to give up my dream and the sport I love. Both my parents and I sacrificed a lot and worked hard to get to the top of the sporting world.

Through the Ski Club Gardena and the ITE sports school in Ortisei, I quickly managed to be called up to the South Tyrolean regional committee. At the age of 16 I competed in my first Fis race and a month later I was able to celebrate my first victory in this category on the downhill in Bardonecchia (TO). In March 2015, I was able to celebrate the Italian junior championship title in both downhill and super-G, which brought me to the national team, entry into the "Fiamme Oro" sports group of Polizia and my first appearances in the European Cup.

I made my definitive breakthrough in the European Cup in the 2018/19 season, where I ended up on the podium a total of 4 times (three 1st places and one 2nd place). This resulted in a second place in the discipline standings and a permanent place in the 2019/20 Downhill World Cup, where I finished in the top 30 for 8 times, with a 21st place as my best result.

The past 2020/21 season was very successful for me, including taking part in the World Championships in Cortina, where I finished 15th in the downhill.
In the World Cup I came 10th in the downhill in Crans Montana. I ended the season with a victory in the Downhill and a bronze medal in the Super-G at the Italian Championships.

After several TOP10 places in the World Cup, the crowning glory came at the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022 where I won the bronze medal in the women's downhill.

Copyright photos: FISI/Pentaphoto & Diego Moroder