In the summer of 2004, a hospital room became the unexpected starting point of Gianluigi Rosa’s second life.
At 17, a motorcycle accident left Rosa with multiple fractures, confining him to bed for weeks. The recovery was slow and it took him months to learn to sit, stand and then trust his prosthetic leg.
“My priority was regaining independence with a prosthetic leg and graduation at school. However, after two years, I felt a void left by the absence of sports in my life.”
Though sport looked like a distant dream but the spark within him never fully disappeared.
Two years later, as Rosa continued rebuilding his independence and finishing his studies, he watched the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games on his television screen. What he saw changed everything.
“I watched Torino 2006 and dreamed,” Rosa says. “I dreamed of being on that ice one day.”
That dream began to take shape later that same year. At a rehabilitation centre, he met Gianluca Cavaliere, his future teammate and captain of the Italian national team. A casual conversation led to an invitation which gave him his first training session.
“When I walked into the locker room and saw wheelchairs and prosthetic legs parked on the benches, I felt something click,” he recalls. “I realised that being part of a team again and sharing disability-related challenges with teammates would help me grow as a person even before becoming an athlete.”
Are you ready for some #ParaIceHockey?
Action at @milanocortina26 starts this Saturday (7 March).
Don’t miss it 🔥 pic.twitter.com/4W0ZmL0md8
Like many Italian children, Rosa grew up with football. He started playing at five years old, serving as a defender.
“I always loved the defensive phase – when the team tightens up to protect the goal – as well as building the play from the back Inspired by [his childhood idol] Paolo Maldini,” he said.
Those instincts translated naturally onto the ice.
Rosa began his Para ice hockey career as a defenceman, reading the game and anchoring the back line. In 2020, he made the bold decision to switch to centre, taking on the responsibility of driving the team’s offensive play.
One of the big moments for him came in 2009, when Italy qualified for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Paralympics.
Italy had arrived at the World Championships in Ostrava as underdogs. And only a few expected them to qualify for Vancouver 2010. But a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Germany secured their place. It was a historic breakthrough, and Rosa still counts it as one of his favourite career moments.
“That qualification changed our mentality,” Rosa says. “For me personally, being named to the All-Star Team really motivated me to grow in this sport.”
Vancouver 2010 marked his Paralympic debut and the fulfilment of a promise he had made to himself during rehabilitation.
“I remember our opening game against Canada,” he says. “Standing on the ice in the Italian jersey, I realised I had achieved the goal I set in that hospital bed.”
Three more Paralympic Games followed with each one bringing new lessons and lifetime of memories.
But the fast-approaching Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games carry a special meaning.
“These will be my first home Paralympics with fans in the stands,” Rosa says. “In Beijing, we played in silence. Now I’ll have my family, my friends – the most important people in my life cheering for me there. That’s incredibly special.”
At 39, Rosa admits life looks very different from his early 20s. He balances elite sport, the training sessions with a full-time job and raising two children.
“It’s not easy at this stage of my career,” he admits. “But that’s exactly why it means so much. I want to repay those sacrifices by giving everything I have on the ice.”
🏆 Italy are World Para Ice Hockey champions!
The Azzurri dominated Division B at the 2025 World Championships in Astana, finishing the tournament with 5 wins from 5 games.
With this triumph, Italy gets a promotion to Division A and firmly reaffirms its place on the road to the… pic.twitter.com/YRBdUe8xxy
Italy’s squad heading into Milano Cortina 2026 is a mixture of experience and youth. Veterans like Rosa provide the leadership, while younger players who made their debuts at Beijing bring energy.
The Italian team have been training hard over the last two years to achieve the best possible result at their home Paralympics. And Rosa describes the atmosphere within the team as “electric.”
“To compete at home again after 20 years is a privilege. Our goal is to play with passion in every game, to make the fans fall in love with this sport, and to achieve the best result we can together.”
“The greatest legacy of these Paralympics would be to introduce this magnificent sport to the Italian public and see the number of athletes in this discipline grow – just as Torino 2006 did for me,” Rosa said.
As captain of both his club side, the South Tyrol Eagles, and the Italian national team, leadership for him is about service.
“My role is to put myself at the service of the team, use my experience to help during difficult moments during the tournaments,” he says. “For me, it’s a way to give back everything I learned from great past captains like Andrea Chiarotti and Gianluca Cavaliere.”
Away from the rink, Rosa finds balance in the Dolomites, where he lives with his family. Hiking and climbing in the mountains help him reset. Now, he shares that passion with his children.
“I’m lucky to live in the heart of the Dolomites; the best way to recharge is to spend a few days in the mountains, staying overnight in a mountain hut and climbing with friends.”
As he prepares for one of the defining moments of his career, Rosa reflected on his journey.
“Sport allowed me to discover my new abilities. It made me stop focusing on what I had lost and start believing in what was still possible. It changed my life.”
And that belief continues to push him forward.