Moioli stepped in to replace Alpine skier Sofia Goggia, who is battling to be fit for the Games after suffering a knee injury while racing at Cortina d’Ampezzo late last month.
During the elaborate opening ceremony, the Italian athletes wore tricolour capes designed by Giorgio Armani, who was also behind the tracksuits for Italy’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Tokyo.
Armani described the tricolour-inspired capes as “a tribute to our flag and the high values it represents, and which our athletes embody”.
Made up of 46 women and 72 men, the Italian team is looking to beat its best haul ever: the five gold medals it took home from the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Over the years, Italy has won 124 Olympic Winter Games medals with 40 gold.
Its top sports have been cross-country skiing (35 medals, nine gold), Alpine skiing (32 medals, 14 gold), and luge (17 medals, seven gold), with its most successful Olympians being cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo, with 10 medals, and short track speed skater Ariana Fontana, with eight.
Alpine skiers Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni have both won three gold medals.
