Olympics-SkiMo-Italian married duo lean on partnership as sport makes its Olympic debut

By Lisa Jucca and Marleen Kaesebier

BORMIO, Italy, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Married duo Michele Boscacci and Alba de Silvestro say the comfort of competing as a team is a strong asset as they head into ski mountaineering’s Olympic debut this week.

The Italian pair will line up in Thursday’s sprint events and again in Saturday’s mixed relay. Living, training and traveling as a pair has shaped their journey to the Olympic stage — and, they say, eases the pressure as the stakes rise.

“You’re maybe in a single room and you might have a moment to think,” Boscacci told Reuters as he compared the couple’s experience to that of other Olympic athletes.

“Instead, this way, we’re together. The tension eases a little, we talk, we try to maintain a bit of a daily routine that we have at home, even though we’re in a hotel and we’re here for the Olympic competitions,” he added, sitting next to his wife.

For Boscacci, 36, and De Silvestro, 30, SkiMo is more than a sport: it is the foundation of their daily lives. The two met through ski mountaineering and now share everything from early‑morning training sessions to journeys to races.

At the Olympics, they will compete in both individual sprints and the mixed relay, the event they have built their season around.

De Silvestro acknowledges that being married to a teammate has moments of friction as well as support.

“In many ways it’s better, in many ways it complicates things,” she said. Sometimes the couple tries to stop talking about racing — only to find the conversation drifting back before the day is over.

“Ski mountaineering is first and foremost our hobby, which has become our job and is now our life, so it all becomes a bit heavy,” Boscacci said. 

“Many times we say, ‘Come on, enough, let’s not talk about it anymore,’ but it doesn’t last, let’s say, weeks – maybe until the end of the day,” Boscacci added.

Boscacci and De Silvestro will enjoy the support of family and friends at the Winter Games. Not only does the Italian duo live only an hour away from the SkiMo venue of Bormio but Boscacci’s father, who won a gold at the first ever SkiMo World Championship in 2002, is helping prepare the course.

“If we were, say, in China, maybe there you’re a little more isolated from an emotional point of view, and maybe, I’m not saying it’s easier, but maybe you have a little less pressure,” Boscacci said of competing at their first Olympics so close to home.

Yet, despite the looming Olympics, the duo is thankful to have each other to go through it all with.

“It’s nice to share these moments, so I’m happy,” De Silvestro said.

(Reporting by Lisa Jucca and Marleen Kaesebier in BormioEditing by Christian Radnedge)