Miro Tabanelli is making Italian freestyle history. © Miro Tabanelli

A historic victory for Miro Tabanelli

Miro Tabanelli's home Olympics in Livigno in 2026 were anything but successful. But at the World Cup in Tignes, France, the 21-year-old Italian struck back – and in doing so, made history.

March 19, 2026

From: dl

Tabanelli secured his second Freestyle World Cup victory on Thursday. The young man from Emilia-Romagna celebrated his first win a year ago, also in Tignes – but in Big Air. This time, the older brother of the injured Flora Tabanelli triumphed in Slopestyle and appeared relieved afterward.

With 83,31 points, Tabanelli narrowly edged out Norway's Birk Ruud (83,08). Switzerland's Andri Ragettli finished sixth. Incidentally, Tabanelli had only managed 17th and 25th place finishes at the Olympic Games. His sister Flora underwent cruciate ligament surgery after winning the bronze medal in Livigno.

Miro Tabanelli is, by the way, the first Italian to stand at the top of the Slopestyle World Cup. This achievement puts him on par with Flora Tabanelli, who accomplished the same feat in the women's competition in February 2025. Prior to this historic day in Tignes, no male Italian athlete had ever reached the podium in this discipline.

Gasslitter in the final

Maria Gasslitter also qualified for the women's slopestyle final on Thursday morning. However, the young athlete from Val Gardena didn't manage to score higher than 59,33 points in the early afternoon, finishing in ninth place. The victory went to Great Britain's Kirsty Muir (82,78). On Friday evening, Gasslitter will make her next attempt at a top finish in the Big Air competition in Tignes, where she had qualified in third place.