Lorenzo Bonicelli, torchbearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games in Verona: "I still feel like an athlete."
By Benedetto Giardina March 5, 2026
Lorenzo Bonicelli will be one of the torchbearers on the day of the
Opening Ceremony of the Milan Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games , scheduled for Friday 6 March in Verona.
The Italian gymnast, seriously injured during the 2025 FISU World University Games , will take part in the Paralympic Flame Relay on the final day of the journey, which will end at the Verona Olympic Arena .
As reported by the Italian Gymnastics Federation (FIG), Bonicelli will run the 200-meter race with his girlfriend Lisa Rigamonti on Via dei Mille.
Having fallen last July 23 during a rings exercise, the Italian athlete underwent surgery in Essen, Germany, to reduce a cervical sprain with subluxation of the fifth vertebra.
In August he was transferred to Italy, to the Niguarda Hospital in Milan , where he began his rehabilitation program and where, together with the Paralympic swimming champion
Giulia Ghiretti, he attended the inauguration of the new spinal unit swimming pool within the facility on Wednesday 4 March.
Lorenzo Bonicelli: "I still see myself as an athlete in the future."
During the inauguration of the swimming pool in the spinal unit at Niguarda Hospital,
Lorenzo Bonicelli wanted to dedicate a thought to those facing the challenges of rehabilitation and beyond.
"Unfortunately, I am surrounded by people with difficult stories," the FIG states in a statement, "stories of trauma and pain; but here, despite everything, I see hope and a desire for redemption. Thank you to the extraordinary people who dedicate their lives to us every day, who make us all feel part of a great team, that of the Unipolar Spinal Unit."
Bonni himself was transferred to the spinal unit of the Milanese facility at the end of August, after weeks spent in intensive care.
There he began a rehabilitation process that is still ongoing, with one thought fixed in mind: "I was born an athlete, I still feel like an athlete and in my future I continue to see myself as an athlete," reiterated Bonicelli, who in recent months posted a message on social media
in which he urges himself to never give up .
"I'm currently undergoing my rehabilitation," he continues. "I still have to find my future path, but when you grow up with the desire to always push your limits, as I did for twenty-three years, you can't change your mindset."
"I'm used to overcoming all kinds of obstacles," he concludes. "I'll let you know, hopefully very soon, what new challenges I'll try to set myself. In the meantime, I thank Professor Spinelli and his staff, who are by my side."
gymnastics-now.com
