By Aadi Nair
(Reuters) -In exactly six months' time the spotlight will shine on the tiny Alpine town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, which along with the city of Milan will be staging the Winter Olympics.
The Games also took place in the resort in 1956 but for Cortina native and Olympic champion curler Stefania Constantini, the 2026 edition promises to be extra special.
"I think it will be a really big event in a really little mountain village," Constantini told Reuters by video call.
"Cortina is a little village,
yes, but it's huge for me. I think Cortina is special, it is a really beautiful place, which also survives thanks to the tourists.
"When Cortina will host the Olympics, a lot of people will come and see us compete. People will have the chance to see a really good level of sport, but also to enjoy a great place. It will be a really special moment."
Constantini will be a defending champion at next year's Games after teaming up with Amos Mosaner to secure Italy's first curling medal in the mixed doubles three and half years ago in Beijing.
The 26-year-old, among the athletes who are part of the Italian police force, said her success at the 2022 Games had transformed both the sport's profile in the country, and her own life.
"In Italy, curling is not a very big sport," she added. "What me and Amos did in Beijing really made a difference. It's really good to see how Italians right now are cheering for us and follow us during our tournaments, our preparation.
"Curling is not very big, but we are growing ... My life really changed a lot in one week, before leaving for China I was just a normal girl working part time and playing.
"I came back a week later with a gold medal. We were nobody and then we came back and it was 'Okay, now we know you. Now you are someone important in Italy'."
As hosts, Italy are guaranteed spots in all three curling events at the 2026 Games, with Constantini saying the nation's curlers would relish the prospect of having a home crowd cheering them on.
HOMETOWN SUPPORT
"I have lived two different experiences. I played in China, really far from home, where it was easy to focus just on curling," she added.
"I was just me, my sport, my team. In less than one year, it will be really different, because we will play in Italy. I will play in my hometown with my family, my friends.
"It will be a little weird. Usually we don't have someone that is cheering for us during the competition, because we play a lot in Canada. It will be really fun to compete with fans that are cheering for us, making some noise for us."
After parting ways following their Beijing triumph, Constantini once again linked up with Mosaner this year and the pair are favourites to bring home another gold medal after taking the title at the world championships in May.
"It's funny because we played together in the Olympics and then we didn't play together for three years," Constantini said.
"I think we did great, we didn't practice very much before the world championships. We did just some practice together, throwing rocks and trying to find our dynamics again.
"But it was not a problem at all. I think we really communicate well. We work together. We listen to each other. I think we can really find that perfect dynamic on the ice."
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held on February 6, though curling will kick off the action two days earlier at the Cortina Olympic Stadium.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
