Maurilio De Zolt (born September 29, 1950 in San Pietro di Cadore

San Pietro di Cadore

San Pietro di Cadore is a comune in the Province of Belluno in the Italian region Veneto, located about 130 km north of Venice and about 60 km northeast of Belluno, on the border with Austria....

, Province of Belluno

Province of Belluno

TheThe Province of Belluno is a province in the Veneto region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Belluno.It has an area of 3,678 km², and a total population of 214,026 .-Geography:...

) is an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 cross country skier who competed from 1980 to 1997. His best known victory was part of the 4 x 10 km relay team that upset Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 at the 1994 Winter Olympics

1994 Winter Olympics

The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...

 in Lillehammer

Lillehammer

is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...

, when he was 43 years old. He also won two silver medals in the Winter Olympics at 50 km (1988, 1992).

De Zolt also won six medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships have been held in various numbers and types of events since 1925 for men and since 1954 for women. Championship events include nordic skiing's three disciplines: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, and nordic combined...

, including 1 gold (50 km: 1987), 3 silvers (50 km: 1985, 4 x 10 km: 1985, 1993), and 2 bronzes (15 km: 1985, 50 km: 1991).

At the Opening Ceremony for the 2006 Winter Olympics

2006 Winter Olympics

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...

 in Turin

Turin

Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

 on February 10, he and his 4 x 10 km relay teammates (Giorgio Vanzetta

Giorgio Vanzetta

Giorgio Vanzetta is an Italian former cross country skier who competed from 1982 to 2002. His best known victory was part of the 4 x 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...

, Marco Albarello

Marco Albarello

Marco Albarello is an Italian cross country skier who competed from 1982 to 2002. He was born in Aosta. His best known victory was part of the 4 x 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...

, and Silvio Fauner

Silvio Fauner

Silvio Fauner is an Italian former cross country skier who competed from 1988. His best known victory was part of the 4 × 10 km relay team that upset Norway at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer...

) who won the gold at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, were among the last carriers of the Olympic torch before it was lit by fellow Italian cross country skier Stefania Belmondo

Stefania Belmondo

Stefania Belmondo is an Italian former cross-country skier.-Debut:Belmondo was born in Vinadio, in the province of Cuneo , the daughter of a housewife and an electric company employee....

. Eighteen years earlier, at the 1988 Winter Olympics

1988 Winter Olympics

The 1988 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event celebrated in and around Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 13 to 28 February 1988. The host was selected in 1981 after having beat Falun, Sweden and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy...

 in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, De Zolt carried the Italian flag

Flag of Italy

The flag of Italy is a tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical pales of green, white, and red, with the green at the hoist side...

 during the opening ceremonies.

De Zolt was formerly a firefighter

Firefighter

Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...

, and once placed second in ladder climbing at the World Fireman Championships.