by sportswriter He Leijing
LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- At 45, Roland Fischnaller leaned into the fall line, carving left and right down a mountainside of packed snow, accelerating toward the finish and toward the end of his Olympic journey.
The Italian snowboarder did not conquer the Olympic mountain that had loomed over his career. But at the Milan-Cortina Games, he became the first snowboarder to compete in seven Winter Olympics.
Fischnaller arrived at the men's parallel giant slalom as the fastest qualifier, a reminder that age had not dulled his edge. A costly mistake in the quarterfinals, however, abruptly ended his run and denied him a chance to fight for the medal he had chased for more than two decades.
His best Olympic result remains a fourth-place finish at Beijing 2022. His career is likely to close without the one prize missing from an otherwise glittering resume.
"Indeed, this will be my last full season," Fischnaller said quietly afterward.
CLIMBING THE OLYMPIC MOUNTAIN
Parallel giant slalom has long been considered one of snowboarding's more age-tolerant disciplines. Even so, few athletes remain competitive at the highest level into their mid-40s. Fischnaller did more than survive. He thrived.
Last March, at age 44, he won world championship gold in Engadin, becoming the oldest world champion in snowboarding history.
Over a career spanning more than 20 years, Fischnaller collected 15 individual World Cup victories in parallel giant slalom, including three during the 2025-26 season at Carezza, Scuol and Simonhohe. He also won four world championship medals in the discipline, one overall Crystal Globe and three discipline globes between 2019 and 2023.
Those achievements helped propel Italian Alpine snowboarding into the global elite. Italy is now widely regarded as the world's leading nation in parallel events, with Fischnaller as one of its enduring symbols.
Only the Olympics remained unconquered.
That absence made Milan-Cortina less a farewell than a moment of clarity, a final attempt at the sport's highest stage on home snow.
"But the Olympics is a beast stronger than me," Fischnaller said after his elimination. "I just don't have it."
His qualification run suggested otherwise. He defeated younger rivals one after another, signaling clear podium intent.
"After qualification, I thought he had no enemy," said Austria's Benjamin Karl, who went on to win gold. "No one could beat him today. But this is sport. This is life."
Earlier in the season, Fischnaller fractured an ankle and missed two World Cup stops in China. He returned sharper, driven by results and by the pull of a home Olympics.
"I can't deny my podium ambitions. I wanted to be there," Fischnaller said, recalling the emotions of competing at the Turin Games in 2006. "I wanted to feel that again."
Karl, 40, who successfully defended his Olympic title, spoke with emotion about his longtime rival and friend.
"I have reached everything in my sport. I have every medal," he said. "But for him, this is his last Olympic Games. I wished him a medal."
"I would even take silver if he won gold," Karl added. "When you get older, friendship becomes more important than winning one race."
Fischnaller embraced the moment.
"For me, it's the seventh Olympics," he said. "I'm enjoying this day. I really appreciate it."
"I'm much more relaxed now," he added with a smile. "I'm 45, and I have three funny kids at home. That makes everything easier."
THE MOUNTAIN FARMER
Fischnaller now plans to return to a different kind of slope.
"I will retire to my farm at 1,700 meters in Val di Funes," he said. "Together with my wife and children, we'll run a farm stay."
He said he treasures the moments when his daughter calls before races, promising to bake him a cake if he wins.
Snowboarding has never been his only identity. Fischnaller proudly calls himself a mountain farmer, splitting his days between farm work, time in the woods and, in summer, long hours cycling through the Alps.
Born in Val di Funes, he first stepped onto a snowboard at age nine, borrowing equipment from his sister. From 14 to 20, he worked as a carpenter. Whenever possible, he escaped to the Sellaronda, drawn by ski mountaineering and cycling as much as speed.
His training philosophy mirrors his life: balance, endurance and functional load built outdoors rather than in gyms.
On technical Olympic courses like Livigno, where speed collides with terrain reading and precision, experience becomes decisive. It has always been Fischnaller's greatest asset.
Despite the ending, there is no bitterness.
"I've lived through many situations like this," he said. "I'm ready to move forward."
His story in the sport may not yet be complete.
"As the reigning world champion, I'd like to give myself one last competitive outing," Fischnaller said, looking ahead to the 2027 World Championships in Montafon, Austria. "There I can race without taking a place from any teammate." ■
