VIDEO SHOWS: FILE OF ALBERTO TOMBA AND DEBORAH COMPAGNONI, TWO OF ITALY'S GREATEST ALPINE SKIIERS, AS THEY ARE REPORTEDLY CHOSEN TO LIGHT THE CAULDRON IN THE OPENING CEREMONY FOR THE 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: KRONPLATZ, ITALY (FILE – JANUARY 23, 2018) (REUTERS – Access all) 1. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ALBERTO TOMBA BANSKO, BULGARIA (FILE- DECEMBER 13, 2003) (REUTERS – Access all) 2. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ALBERTO TOMBA TURIN, ITALY (FILE – FEBRUARY 10, 2006) (REUTERS – Access all) 3. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ALBERTO TOMBA CRANS MONTANA, SWITZERLAND (FILE – MARCH 15, 1998) (REUTERS – Access all) 4. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ALBERTO TOMBA CRANS MONTANA, SWITZERLAND (FILE – MARCH 14, 1998) (REUTERS – Access all) 5. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ALBERTO TOMBA SHIGA KOGEN, JAPAN (FILE – FEBRUARY 19, 1998) (REUTERS – Access all) 6. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF ALBERTO TOMBA NAGANO, JAPAN (FILE – FEBRUARY 20, 1998) (REUTERS – Access all) 7. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DEBORAH COMPAGNONI SOELDEN, AUSTRIA (FILE – OCTOBER 24, 1998) (REUTERS – Access all) 8. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DEBORAH COMPAGNONI VAIL, COLORADO (FILE – JANUARY 24, 1999) (REUTERS – Access all) 9. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DEBORAH COMPAGNONI SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE – MARCH 13, 1999) (REUTERS – Access all) 10. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DEBORAH COMPAGNONI VAIL, COLORADO (FILE – FEBRUARY 13, 1999) (REUTERS – Access all) 11. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DEBORAH COMPAGNONI VAIL, COLORADO (FILE – FEBRUARY 11, 1999) (REUTERS – Access all) 12. STILL PHOTOGRAPH OF DEBORAH COMPAGNONI STORY: Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni, two of Italy's greatest Alpine skiers, will share the honour of lighting the Olympic cauldrons in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo on Friday (February 6). Tomba, 59, and Compagnoni, who is 55, were part of a golden age of Italian skiing and both won Olympic titles at the Albertville Games in 1992. Tomba lit the flame in Milan's Arco della Pace, while Compagnoni did the same more than 400 kilometres (250 miles) away in co-host Cortina, the first time their have been two cauldrons at the Games. Hailing from the northern city of Bologna, Tomba was an outlier in a sport dominated by mountain folk. His penchant for playing to the crowds also made him one of Italy's best known sportsmen. Compagnoni comes from the mountains of northern Italy, and the choice of the pair fits with the idea of harmony between different regions, one of the themes of the Games. For Tomba, victory in Albertville followed two golds won in Calgary in 1988. Compagnoni went on to win golds in Lillehammer in 1994, where she was the flag bearer for the Italian team, and in Nagano four years later. Tomba is considered one of the greatest specialists in technical disciplines, slalom and giant slalom, in the history of Alpine skiing. Compagnoni is a symbol of resilience, having overcome a series of serious injuries and other personal crises. She experienced a tragic family loss in 2021, when her brother Jacopo died after being swept away by an avalanche during a ski mountaineering excursion. She is the former wife of Italian entrepreneur, Alessandro Benetton, chairman of the family company that controls the fashion group of the same name. (Production: Suramya Kaushik)
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