Two decades after winning his first Paralympic medal in Torino, Japan’s Taiki Morii hopes to return to Italy and win the gold medal at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
Morii says competing in Italy again will bring his career full circle. He won his first Paralympic medal at Torino 2006 and now, 20 years later, he wants to end his journey there with a “happy ending.”
The 44-year-old Para alpine skier has won medals at every Paralympic Games since 2006. At Beijing 2022, he earned two bronze medals. Despite competing against younger athletes, Morii often finishes ahead of them.
However, Morii says he still lacks one thing: a gold medal.
“I have never won gold at the Paralympics,” Morii said. “My dream in Para alpine skiing is to win gold. It all started in Italy, and I want to finish it there too.”
Morii considers Milano Cortina 2026 a special event in his life. He is thinking about retiring after the Games and wants to end his career with a memorable victory.
“To make that happen, I want to bring home a medal of the most beautiful color,” he added.
How It All Began
Morii started skiing at the age of three. He was training to compete in a national high school tournament when a motorcycle accident just before his 17th birthday left him with a spinal cord injury.
While recovering in the hospital, he discovered the Paralympic Winter Games, which were taking place in Japan at the time.
“I watched the Nagano 1998 Paralympics from my hospital room and thought, ‘This is something for me,’” Morii recalled.
He was surprised to see athletes with spinal cord injuries like his competing and smiling.
“At that time, I was in despair,” he said. “I didn’t think I could ever laugh again. But these athletes were smiling so much — you could see the back of their teeth.”