Winter Paralympics 2026: Torino 2006 veterans Adam Hall and Suzuki Takeshi rip through fog to win medals on men’s slalom day
A lot can change in 20 years, but one thing you can count on is that New Zealand’s Adam Hall and Japan’s Suzuki Takeshi are still skiing fast.
Para Alpine skiers Hall and Suzuki made their Paralympic debuts at Torino 2006 and made it to the podium two decades later in the next edition of the Paralympic Winter Games on Italian snow, at Milano Cortina 2026.
Hall took silver in the men’s standing race on Sunday (15 March), 2.83 seconds behind Russia’s Aleksei Bugaev, to make it four consecutive Paralympic podiums in the discipline.
Suzuki took bronze in the men’s sitting, 12 years after winning the same race at Sochi 2014.
While the two Para Alpine skiers are not the oldest in their fields, there is a sizable age gap between them and fellow medallists. Suzuki, 37, is 11 years older than men’s sitting slalom winner Jeroen Kampschreur and silver medallist Jesper Pedersen of Norway.
At 38, Hall is 10 years older than Bugaev and 11 years older than the bronze medallist, Robin Cuche of Switzerland.
The Italian snow was not only lucky for Torino 2006 veterans but also home skiers.
Second after Run 1, Giacomo Bertagnolli and guide Andrea Ravelli managed to blaze into the top position, despite difficult foggy conditions, to take their second gold and fifth medal at the home Games.
Poland’s Michal Golas and guide Kacper Walas picked up the silver, a narrow 0.27 seconds behind the Italians, while Canada’s Kalle Ericsson and guide Sierra Smith were elated to come back from two consecutive fourth places to finish the games with their second bronze.
Their collective efforts bumped Johannes Aigner and Nico Haberl off the podium for the first time at Milano Cortina 2026. The Austrians collected three gold medals and a bronze in earlier races, but had to settle for fourth place on the final Para Alpine skiing competition day in Cortina.
More to follow…
