Paralympic Games: Perathoner wins gold

Emanuel Perathoner celebrated the greatest success of his career at the Paralympics in Milano-Cortina. The South Tyrolean dominated the SB-LL2 snowboard cross from the start and won gold.

March 08, 2026

From: do

Emanuel Perathoner has written another great South Tyrolean winter fairytale at the Paralympics in Milano-Cortina. The 39-year-old from Lajen won the gold medal in the Para-Snowboard Cross SB-LL2 class on Saturday, prevailing in the grand final ahead of Australian Ben Tudhope and South Korean Jehyuk Lee.

For Perathoner, it is probably the most emotional success of his special career: He used to compete in snowboard cross at the Olympics, after his serious training injury in 2021 he fought his way back as a para-athlete and now he is at the top of the home games.

Number 1: From beginning to end

Perathoner made it clear in qualifying that he would be a force to be reckoned with that day. The Italian set the fastest time of 47,99 seconds, securing a strong starting position for the knockout rounds. There, too, the South Tyrolean demonstrated his dominance: the veteran won both his quarter-final and semi-final matches, advancing to the final without much difficulty.

In the Big Final, Perathoner put the finishing touch on his perfect day. With a strong and composed run, he held his own against the international competition and secured the victory. Tudhope took silver, Lee secured bronze, while Canadian Alex Massie narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth.