Spain’s initial medal hopefuls, Queralt Castellet and Lucas Eguibar, encountered a turbulent performance at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, a showing so fraught with difficulty that it concluded without even an Olympic diploma to their names. This outcome, while disappointing, was perhaps not entirely unforeseen, given that these two athletes represented the most uncertain prospects among the nation’s five pre-Games medal contenders identified by analysts at our news site.
The remaining three Spanish medal chances are now squarely focused on the debut of ski mountaineering, or skimo, scheduled for competition in the coming week. Prior to the highly anticipated Olympic introduction of Oriol Cardona and Ana Alonso in that discipline, the spotlight fell on a super Thursday of snowboard events featuring two seasoned veterans of the sport.
A Super Thursday of Snowboard Setbacks
That day was headlined by the participation of Queralt Castellet, competing in her sixth Olympic Games, alongside Lucas Eguibar, appearing in his fourth. Both athletes, despite their extensive and decorated careers, did not arrive at these Games at the peak of their form. The hopes pinned on them as Spain’s primary medal prospects ultimately slipped away, quite literally rolling down the snowy slopes during their respective competitions.
Their performances, marked by uncharacteristic errors and misfortune, resulted in finishes outside the coveted top positions. This early stumble for the Spanish delegation shifts the collective anticipation toward the upcoming skimo events, where new faces carry the nation’s aspirations for a podium finish at these Winter Games.