Security officials order the removal of Catalan independence flags at the Olympic final between Oriol Cardona and Ot Ferrer.

BarcelonaSecurity personnel at the Bormio ski resort, where the final of the ski mountaineering sprint race was held, ordered the removal of the Estelada flags and some Catalan flags carried by Catalan fans, many of them friends and acquaintances of Oriol Cardona, who has won the gold medal, and Ot Ferrer. The explanation given by security personnel is that they are required to enforce the Olympic Charter, which prohibits "any type of political, religious, or racial demonstration or propaganda in any venue or facility considered part of the Olympic Games." At these same Games, an athlete, the Ukrainian Vladislav Heraskevich, from skeletonHe was expelled because he was competing with a helmet that displayed the faces of athletes killed by the Russian army.

For the first time, it entered the Olympic programskimoSkiing is a sport in which Catalonia boasts top-level athletes. For this reason, many acquaintances of Ot Ferrer, Oriol Cardona, and the Santpedor skier Maria Costa made the trip to support their team. Many of them carried Catalan independence flags (esteladas), like the group that came from Berga to cheer on Ferrer. After the quarter-final race, security ordered them to hide the flags and in some cases confiscated them, causing a few tense moments.

Members of the Camprodon ski club, where Cardona began competing, were also seen in the stands in Bormio. The prospect of seeing medals for the Spanish delegation also drew many dignitaries to the final, including the president of the Spanish Olympic Committee; the Catalan Minister of Sport, Berni Álvarez; and former basketball player Pau Gasol.