The Italian athlete finished in 3rd place behind Germany’s Langenhan and Austria’s Mueller. Dominik: “It’s a fantastic feeling. And I’m not going to stop: now we have a fantastic track right here at home, so luge in Italy is going to get even better”

Dominik Fischnaller secures a bronze medal at the Olympic Games. Following his performance at the 2022 Beijing Games, he capped off two days of flawless racing at the Cortina Sliding Center, finishing third behind Germany’s Langenhan and Austria’s Mueller. Fischnaller, already in third place after the first run, arrived in Cortina without any standout results in the World Cup but confirmed his familiarity with the Olympic track. The 32-year-old from Maranza capped off his masterful performance with a safe fourth run. Gold went to Germany’s Langenhan in 3’31”191, silver to Austria’s Mueller, and bronze to Fischnaller.

“It’s a fantastic feeling. I feel relieved,” says a beaming Fischnaller. “I didn’t sleep very well last night. My whole family is here, all my friends—more than 100 people came from Maranza. The whole fan club was there, including Erika Lechner (Italy’s first luge medalist, ed.) and her brother Emilio, who is the coach who got me started in luge when I was 8. I felt like I was under a lot more pressure than I was in Beijing in 2022. But when I got on the track, I felt calm. I’m happy it worked out and that I made it.” Also there to celebrate was his wife Emily, a U.S. skeleton athlete: “It’s really special—not many people can do this. I’m very happy, and it will stay with me forever.” Fischnaller has no doubts about the future: “I’m not going to stop. Now we have a fantastic track right here at home, so skeleton in Italy will improve even more, because we have a track to test the new sleds.” And even head coach Armin Zoeggeler, who knows a thing or two about Olympic medals, emphasizes the importance of finally having a track to train on: “It was essential for us—for skeleton and bobsled. We pushed hard to get it and to win a medal right away on this beautiful track. We know the value of this track; we finally have one at home, and it will help us grow.”