Now it’s official: host nation Italy is having its best ever Winter Olympics.
Italy picked up four medals in quick succession on Sunday — two golds, a silver and a bronze — to take its current total to 22 and surpass its previous best medal haul of 20, set more than 30 years ago, at the Lillehammer Games in 1994.
And there are still seven days left of competition.
Italy's cross-country team set Sunday off with bronze in the men's 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay before Federica Brignone won an incredible second gold medal at her home Games with victory in the giant slalom, barely a month after returning to racing following a horrific injury last year.
Less than an hour later, Michela Moioli and Lorenzo Sommariva finished second in the mixed team snowboard cross to pick up Italy’s 21st medal at the Milan Cortina Games and break its previous mark.
And shortly after that, Lisa Vittozzi won gold in the 10-kilometer pursuit biathlon race.
The total is more than the target of 19 medals set by Italian Olympic Committee president Luciano Buonfiglio before the Games began.
The breakdown so far? Eight gold medals, four silver and 10 bronze.
In Lillehammer, Italy finished fourth in the final medal table — behind Russia, host nation Norway and Germany. At Milan Cortina, the Azzurri have consistently been in the top two.
At the last Winter Olympics, in Beijing, Italy won 17 medals. It fared worse the last time it hosted the Games, collecting 11 in Turin in 2006.
The signs that Italy could do something special at its home games were there right from Day 3, when the Azzurri had a record-breaking day on home snow and ice with a haul of six medals, the most the nation had ever won in a single day at the Winter Olympics.
“What an incredible day: six medals in 24 hours at the Winter Olympics will go down in history,” local organizing committee president Giovanni Malagò said. “And what’s also incredible is the multidisciplinary nature of the medals, we have become a country that is capable of being competitive in sports where we have never been.
“That is fundamental in the Olympic program and in the final medal table ... I have always been of the opinion that the strength of a country can be seen in how many medals in different sports you manage to earn, not necessarily the number of golds.”
The stories behind some of the medals have added to the feel-good moment sweeping the country.
The 35-year-old Brignone skied through the pain to win gold in the women’s super-G on Thursday, following a year spent largely in rehab after breaking multiple bones in her leg.
Arianna Fontana, the most decorated short track speedskater of all time, won her 12th and 13th medals, equaling fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti’s record for most Olympic medals by an Italian athlete — a mark that has stood since 1960.
“We’re getting to see the Italian team do incredibly well ... I’ve been very fortunate to have gotten to witness Federica’s and Arianna’s golds, which were just incredible,” International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry said on Friday. “Their stories of resilience and fight and everything good in humanity was really showcased.
“Both athletes I have so much respect for ... Arianna is now the most decorated Italian athlete, summer or winter Olympian. And to do that at home, it’s so cool. I’m so excited for her. And you could feel in the stadium yesterday, last night, just the passion and the love and the respect.”
