Monica De Gennaro carries Milan Cortina Olympic torch

As the countdown to the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games continues, the torch relay is spreading the Olympic spirit and values across the country thereby involving some 10,001 torchbearers in a relay stopping in all 20 regions. On Wednesday, Monica De Gennaro – the libero of #CLVolleyW titleholders A. Carraro Imoco CONEGLIANO who announced last year her retirement from the national team after claiming Olympic, World, and European titles – did carry the torch across the streets of Bassano del Grappa in north-east Italy. 

“I would like to thank the Consortium Prosecco DOC for allowing me to sense and experience once again the Olympic atmosphere,” De Gennaro said. “It was a real honour and a very emotional moment for me to be able to carry the Olympic torch for the upcoming Winter Games. I wish the best of luck to all the athletes due to compete at Milan Cortina in a few weeks’ time,” she continued. 

De Gennaro is a four-time Olympian – she made her debut at London 2012, competed in Rio four years later as well as at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before crowning herself Olympic champion with Team Italy in Paris in the summer of 2024.