Olympic Skiing Champ Michelle Gisin Hails Gregorio Paltrinieri’s Help Overcoming Mono

Gregorio Paltrinieri: Photo Courtesy: Deepbluemedia/Giorgio Scala

Olympic Skiing Champ Michelle Gisin Hails Gregorio Paltrinieri’s Help Overcoming Mono

Swiss Olympian Michelle Gisin was concerned, while sapped by a bout with mononucleosis in 2021, that she might not make it at full strength to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

In seeking inspiration of athletes that had overcome the glandular fever, she hit on a notable recent example: Italian swimmer Gregorio Paltrinieri. Watching Paltrinieri succeed in Tokyo helped Gisin put her infection in the past, leading to successful defense of her combined title in Beijing as well as bronze in the women’s Super-G.

Gisin, 28, won the women’s combined event at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang. But she contracted mono in the summer of 2021, the viral infection draining her of energy as she turned the corner toward prepping for the Beijing Games.

While the convalesced, she watched the Tokyo Olympics, which included Paltrinieri. The Italian, who won gold in the men’s 1,500 meter freestyle at the 2016 Rio Olympics, had his participation in a third Olympics thrown in doubt when he came down with mono in June. Though he had what the Italian Swimming Federation called at the time minor symptoms, it still hung over his final preparations for Tokyo

Paltrinieri persevered, winning silver in the 800 free and bronze in the 10-kilometer open water event. He finished fourth in his defense of the 1,500.

“There was this Italian swimmer that also had mono a couple of months and weeks before and he got bronze in the 10km open water,” Gisin told AFP. “That was so amazing to see. It meant so much to me to see him compete because I was really deep, deep down in the hole and to see him achieve this gave me a lot of hope.”

Paltrinieri and Gisin connected directly after his return from Tokyo, through the intermediary of Gisin’s boyfriend, Italian skier Luca De Aliprandini. Paltrinieri offered advice on what she called “the craziest rollercoaster” of a training ride.

In addition to her two medals, Gisin finished sixth in the slalom and 10th in the giant slalom.

“I just tried to go for it and not look back,” a delighted Gisin said. “It’s just way too beautiful that it all worked out.”

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