Dominik Fischnaller and the long road to Olympic dreams

Italy's Olympic journey in luge

Oberhof (FIL/22.01.2026) Few athletes embody perseverance in luge as much as Dominik Fischnaller. The latest video from Olympics.com shows his Olympic story—a journey full of hope, setbacks, and ultimately well-deserved rewards on the biggest stage in winter sports.

Fischnaller made his Olympic debut in Sochi in 2014 at the age of just 20. Unimpressed by the big stage, the young Italian delivered four strong runs and finished a remarkable sixth in his first Olympic Games – a result that highlighted his great potential early on.

Four years later, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, Fischnaller arrived with clear medal ambitions. But after the first two runs, he was only in eleventh place. It was only in the third run that he found his best form, clocking the third-fastest time and moving up to seventh place. The fourth and final run would decide the outcome: Fischnaller put in an outstanding performance and set the fastest time of the entire fourth run – ahead of Austria's Wolfgang Kindl. Nevertheless, in the end, it was not quite enough for a medal: fourth place, with only 0.002 seconds – two thousandths – separating him from an Olympic medal.

At his third Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022, which took place under strict Covid conditions, Fischnaller competed exclusively in the men's singles. With four consistent and controlled runs, he finally fulfilled his long-cherished dream: Olympic bronze. In doing so, he won Italy's first Olympic medal in the men's singles since Armin Zöggeler in 2014 and crowned his years of perseverance with a well-deserved podium finish.

With an eye on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Fischnaller's story takes on a special emotional depth. Competing in front of a home crowd will be the next big milestone in his career—a powerful symbol of patience, passion, and belief in his own path.

Watch the full video on Olympics.com and experience Dominik Fischnaller's Olympic journey: