In a historic achievement, Oriol Cardona Col of Spain clinched the gold medal in mountain skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the first event of its kind at the Games. Competing in the men's ski mountaineering sprint held at the Stelvio Ski Centre in Bormio, Italy, Col finished with a time of 2:34.03, surpassing his nearest competitor, Nikita Filipov, by 1.52 seconds. This victory not only underscores Col's status as a top contender, having previously secured back-to-back gold medals at the World Championships but also serves to lift the heavy burden of over half a century without a Winter Olympics gold medal for Spain.

The event of ski mountaineering requires athletes to attach skins to their skis for uphill travel and remove them for descent, making speed and equipment transition critical. Col displayed remarkable precision, minimizing mistakes and maintaining his lead without allowing any overtakes throughout the race, affirming his dominance in this new discipline. This performance is particularly significant given that Spain's previous gold was achieved in alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics in Sapporo in 1972, marking a 54-year gap between gold medals for the nation.

In the women’s sprint event, Switzerland’s Marianne Fatton emerged victorious with a time of 2:59.77, while France's Émilie Arofs and Spain's Ana Alonso Rodríguez took home the silver and bronze medals, respectively. Col's win not only signifies Spain's first medal of the 2026 Olympics but also heralds a new chapter for Spanish winter sports excellence at an international level, further inspiring athletes in this burgeoning field.