Marion Oberhofer (right) takes a selfie with Andrea Vötter (center) and Sergio Mattarella. © ANSA / Paolo Giandotti

Special visit: Our gold ladies delight Mattarella

It was the crowning moment of a memorable evening: Andrea Vötter and Marion Oberhofer paid a visit to President Sergio Mattarella after their Olympic victory. Emanuel Rieder and Simon Kainzwaldner had to miss out for a curious reason.

February 12, 2026

From Cortina d'Ampezzo

In Cortina d'Ampezzo on Wednesday, it was quickly apparent that something was different. Numerous police cars cruised through the narrow streets of the Olympic town, and there was a particularly large presence of security forces, bodyguards, and Carabinieri in front of the Hotel Villa Marina – about a five-minute walk from the luge center. The reason soon became clear to everyone: President Sergio Mattarella was visiting the Olympics.

And the 84-year-old couldn't have chosen a better day. On the newly built Eugenio Monti track, the South Tyrolean doubles teams Andrea Vötter/Marion Oberhofer and Emanuel Rieder/Simon Kainzwaldner sped to historic gold medals.

Sergio Mattarella (second from left) with the two luge champions Marion Oberhofer (right) and Andrea Vötter (second from right). Armin Zöggeler is on the far left. © ANSA / Paolo Giandotti

After the awards ceremony and the interviews in the mixed zone, a special invitation finally arrived. The luge heroes were to meet Mattarella at Villa Marina. While Rieder and Kainzwaldner were held up for quite some time at the doping control, Vötter and Oberhofer, accompanied by racing director Armin Zöggeler, set off to meet the head of state.

Mattarella knows a lot

And he welcomed the lugers with open arms. "There were so many compliments for Marion and Andrea. He said it was a wonderful success for Italy and for the newly built bobsleigh track," Zöggeler recounts. Mattarella also showed great interest. "For example, he wanted to know who was competing in the relay today and how exactly the race worked. And: He's very well-informed. He suddenly called out to everyone, asking if we were still behind Norway in the medal standings. He was very knowledgeable."

The luge women in conversation with Mattarella. © ANSA / Paolo Giandotti

Around 11:30 p.m., Mattarella "released" the gold medalists, who didn't miss the opportunity to take a selfie. Rieder and Kainzwaldner didn't make it to the head of state due to doping control. They met up with their fellow gold medalists Vötter and Oberhofer a little later in the Olympic Village. They had something to eat together before heading to bed after a legendary night.