Yet another theft at the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, after the one involving the two curling stones. This time the protagonist, despite himself, was Emanuel Perathoner. After winning gold in boardercross and banked slalom at the Paralympics, the South Tyrolean champion suffered a sensational theft: his two precious snowboards were stolen during the awards ceremony last Friday at the Socrepes facility in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
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Unique boards and rare attacks
These are top-of-the-line equipment, customized and of great value, equipped with limited edition Atlas FC Union bindings. As Perathoner explains on social media:
Friday 13th during the prize giving ceremony at the Socrepes facility someone stole two of my Apex boards (grey and black) with Union Atlas Fc model bindings.
It’s not just the design of the boards that makes them unique: the bindings are rare pieces, one gray and purple, limited edition, the other yellow and black, one of only two examples existing in the world. Thanks to the serial numbers engraved on the boards, identification is possible.
After the theft, Perathoner launched a heartfelt appeal on social media:
If anyone has seen them or has any information please contact me.
The hope is that sharing the details of the boards and bindings will help recover the spoils, giving back to the champion what represents the fruit of years of commitment and sacrifice.
From the Olympic dream to Paralympic resilience
His, after all, is a truly extraordinary career. A former Olympian at Vancouver 2010 and Pyeongchang 2018, Perathoner dealt with a serious knee injury in 2021 that required a full knee replacement. For many others the sporting dream would have ended here, but not for him who decided to start competing in the Paralympic world.
From that moment it was a succession of successes with world titles and prestigious results which led him to receive the Golden Collar of Paralympic sporting merit in 2023. Finally, at the Paralympics, the consecration with the two golds before the mockery of the theft.
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