The seventeenth Winter edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival, held in Georgia across the cities of Bakuriani, Batumi and Tbilisi, came to a perfect close.

On the final day of competition, the Azzurrini claimed a further three medals – two golds and one silver – allowing Italia Team to top the overall medals table with a total of 16 podiums: 7 golds, 6 silvers and 3 bronzes.

Early in the morning, the cross-country skiing mixed relay team immediately made the Italian anthem ring out, thanks to an outstanding performance from Alice Leoni leading off, Luca Pietroboni in the second leg, Vanessa Cagnati in the third, and Daniel Pedranzini anchoring the final push. It was a true team victory, with the early skiers staying among the leaders and handing over in the front group, setting Pedranzini up to clinch the win in the final leg. For the Azzurro, it was a fourth personal gold medal at these EYOF Games, achievements that earned him the honour of being named flag-bearer for the Italian delegation at the closing ceremony.

The second gold medal of the day came from a dominant performance by the mixed biathlon relay, with Italy leading from the very first exchange and steadily increasing their advantage over their rivals at each shooting range. Rafael Santer, Julian Huber, Gaia Gondolo and Thea Wanker secured a margin of 1’19”9 over the Czech Republic, who took silver ahead of France.

Finally, there was a silver medal for the alpine skiing team in the team event. After defeating Ukraine in the round of 16, Poland in the quarter-finals, and the Czech Republic in the semi-finals, it was Norway who dashed the Azzurrini’s hopes of gold. The athletes who stepped onto the podium were Marta Giaretta, Victoria Klotz, Emma Bastita, David Castlunger, Luca Loranzi and Alex Silbernagl.

The Bakuriani 2025 EYOF concluded with the closing ceremony held at the foot of the Crystal Ski Resort slopes. The ceremony was broadcast live on Italia Team TV.