Italian tennis star Jasmine Paolini will carry the Olympic Flame to Italy ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games. She will also take part in the Handover Ceremony in Athens on 4 December, running as a Torchbearer alongside Olympic cycling champion Filippo Ganna.
Paolini, currently ranked eighth in the WTA standings, won gold in the women’s doubles at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Her role in Athens marks the final stage of the Greek relay before the Flame begins its journey to Italy. She will then travel with it to Rome.
Her participation is supported by Milano Cortina 2026 and Coca-Cola, the Presenting Partners of the Torch Relay. Coca-Cola selected Torchbearers who reflect Olympic values such as excellence, authenticity, and determination. The company said Paolini represents these qualities through her talent, resilience, and passion.
The Handover Ceremony will take place at the Panathenaic Stadium at 11 a.m. local time. The Greek leg of the relay ends there after nine days across the country. Greek water polo player Elena Xenaki will light the Olympic Cauldron before the Hellenic Olympic Committee hands the Torch to Giovanni Malagò, President of Fondazione Milano Cortina 2026.
The Flame will fly to Rome later that afternoon on an ITA Airways flight, landing at Fiumicino Airport at 17:00. Malagò and Paolini will step off the aircraft with the lantern that protects the Flame, beginning its Italian journey towards the 2026 Games.
