CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – The Olympic spirit burns brightly within 23-year-old Italian curler Giacomo Colli.
As the rising talent from Cortina d’Ampezzo strives to make the Italian squad for the upcoming Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, he can look no further than his own home for added inspiration – to his 93-year-old grandfather, Bruno Colli.
Bruno carried the 1956 Olympic Flame through the Colli family’s village of Meleres, nestled on the hillside above Cortina, below the jagged Italian Dolomites. He ran with the torch on a frigid day, January 25, 1956, one day prior to the opening ceremony at the nearby Olympic Ice Stadium, home to Olympic curling in February 70 years later.
“I admire him so much,” Giacomo Colli said about his grandfather. “The Olympics in Cortina really gave him the opportunity to change his life, and I hope that I can do the same.”
In 1956, Colli served as an attaché to both the Soviet Union and Ireland cross-country ski teams, vastly different tasks considering the contrasting levels of performance.
Giacomo savored his recent experience as an alternate for the Italian men’s team, skipped by Jöel Retornaz, at the 2025 world championship in Moose Jaw, Sask. Following a closing 9-7 loss to Japan and a 5-7 round robin record, Italy missed the six-team playoffs.
“Losing some games, for me, it was an opportunity to learn more than if everything went smoking,” Colli told The Curling News during an interview in Cortina. “It was a really cool experience and a great event.
“And seeing the passion that the people have there, they really enjoy the games.
“For example, on the plane to Regina, the lady sitting next to me knew who I was. That was incredible!”
Colli, who began curling in Cortina at age nine, also represented Italy at the World University Games in Torino this past January.
He will do his best to impress over the coming months, seeking the coveted fifth spot available on the Italian Olympic men’s fours squad.
“Of course, it will mean a lot for me to go to the Olympics, being born and raised in Cortina,” Colli says, exuding passion. “I'm doing as much as I can to get there, training hard, hitting the gym and playing padel this summer.”
“The Italian Federation picked eight potential Olympic people – the four guys from Team Retornaz and the four guys from my team,” Colli said. “They will pick the alternate, the fifth man out of the four on my team, so it's a hard competition.
“Everybody wants to go, but the truth is we’re not battling. It's a fair competition. They are my best mates and if I don’t go, I will be happy if my teammate goes.”
The Italian men’s Olympic team will be selected soon – in early September – ahead of November’s European Championships in Finland.
Colli cautiously likes his chances of representing his country on home ice.
“Realistically speaking, I see myself as the least favourite, but probably I’m the best guy in the changing rooms, building camaraderie and making a good team dynamic, so that’s the card I can play,” he said.
Colli views his opportunities as a win-win situation. If Giacomo is not chosen, he’ll still work the Olympics as a curling venue consultant for the 2026 Games organizers.
“I’m not nervous, just focused on the goal,” said Colli. “And if I don’t make it as an athlete, I’ll be there as an organizer, which will be a great challenge too.”
Undoubtedly, his grandfather Bruno is rooting for him to relish a life-changing experience, just as he had nearly 70 years ago, in the Italian ski resort that the Colli family calls home.
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