CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy - Italian Para snowboarder Emanuel Perathoner thought his sporting dreams were over in 2021, when a severe knee injury shattered his hopes of competing at the Beijing Olympics the following year.

But on Sunday at the Cortina Para Snowboard Park, he stood on the podium in front of a crowd packed with his compatriots, a gold medal around his neck, as his proud parents looked on. He was the new Paralympic snowboard cross champion, and the first Italian to win gold at the Milan Cortina Paralympic Games.

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