Among the protagonists of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympics there is undoubtedly Chiara Mazzel, the skier from Trentino who has just won her fourth consecutive medal: a silver in the women’s giant slalom category VI for visually impaired athletes after having brought Italy back to the top step of the podium in the Super-G. Born in Cavalese, in Val di Fiemme, and raised in San Giovanni di Fassa, Chiara has always been linked to the mountains.
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Skis have been part of her life since she was a child and snow has always been her natural environment. No one would have imagined that skiing would become the key to facing one of the most difficult moments of his life. Today he competes in paralympic alpine skiing with guide Nicola Cotti Cottini, a fundamental presence during the descents, where communication and absolute trust are essential.
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The diagnosis that changes everything
His story suddenly changes in 2014, when he was just 17 years old. A trivial episode becomes the first sign of something wrong: while he is riding his scooter he realizes that he can no longer see well in one eye. Within a short time the situation worsens rapidly. Doctors discover fulminant glaucoma that had previously gone undiagnosed.
The disease completely takes away the sight of her left eye and drastically reduces that of her right. For Chiara it is a shock. For two years she remained locked in her house, far from sport and the outside world, facing a period of isolation and fear. But just when everything seems to stop, the turning point arrives.
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Rebirth thanks to sport
The starting point came in 2018, when Chiara followed the Pyeongchang Paralympics on television. Looking at the exploits of the Paralympic athletes, including the champion Giacomo Bertagnolli (also now involved in Milan Cortina), he understands that even with a disability it is possible to return to skiing.
It’s time for his second sporting life. He accepts his condition and decides to get back into the game. From that moment on, a very rapid growth began: intense training, races and podiums that came one after the other. His palmarès is soon enriched with important results, including three golds at the 2023 Espot World Championships and numerous international placings.
The injury and the most difficult comeback
When his career seems to have been launched, a new obstacle arrives in 2023: a serious knee injury with a rupture of the cruciate ligament and menisci. It’s a very hard moment and Chiara even thinks about quitting. But once again he decides not to give up. With months of rehabilitation and training she manages to get back on track more determined than before.
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Gold in Cortina and a special victory
Consecration arrives at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympics. After the silver in the downhill, Chiara won the gold in the Super-G, bringing Italy back to Paralympic victory in the discipline twenty years after Turin 2006. And to think that the day of the race had not started in the best way: a strong headache and a moment of panic during the reconnaissance had almost put her start in doubt.
Then the decision to try anyway. A courageous descent, some errors recovered with determination and finally the finish line. The result is a medal that is worth much more than gold, because it tells a story of resilience, talent and an extraordinary will to live. As mentioned, the third medal then arrived, a silver in the combined, and now this last silver in the giant slalom.
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