On January 28, Matteo M. Garbelotto-Benzon, a researcher from the University of California, will carry the Olympic torch through Canazei in Italy’s Dolomites. Accompanying him will be his service dog, S’Abba. Garbelotto is among approximately 10,000 individuals selected to participate in the torch relay for the 2026 Winter Olympics, which will travel from Olympia, Greece to Milan and Cortina in Italy.
Garbelotto believes this moment may mark the first time a service dog assists a person with a mobility disability during an Olympic torch relay. “I am so proud that S’Abba may be the first service dog to help a person with a mobility disability walk with the torch for the Olympics,” he said. “It says so much about the importance of these companions in the world of sports. In Italy, only guide dogs for the sight-impaired are fully acknowledged, so I am really proud she was selected.”
Raised near Canazei, Garbelotto has had ties to both forestry and skiing since childhood. He recalls stories from his father about the 1956 Cortina Winter Games and describes how skiing is deeply rooted in local culture: “When you grow up in a village of 300 souls, with a glacier less than an hour away, skiing is in your blood,” he said. “Skiing for people who live in the Alps is not just for the elite, it’s for everybody.”
Garbelotto’s career as a professor at UC Berkeley and specialist with UC Cooperative Extension has focused on forest pathology; he is known for co-discovering Sudden Oak Death alongside David Rizzo of UC Davis.
His life changed after suffering a serious ski accident in March 2018 that partially fractured his spine and left him using a wheelchair at times. Months later while working in Tahoe he experienced a pulmonary embolism. During recovery in Sardinia he met S’Abba—a puppy abandoned by a neighbor—which led him to begin training her as his service dog.
“I thought she could maybe help me walk better without always having to use a cane,” Garbelotto said.
With S’Abba’s assistance and specialized training focused on mobility and balance tasks, Garbelotto returned to fieldwork on foot and skis. The pair were eventually chosen as torchbearers for their home region.
Garbelotto expressed gratitude upon learning they would carry the flame locally: “I worried as an American that they would simply assign me to any place, so I was a bit nervous,” he said. “When I found out I would be carrying the torch in the Dolomites I was so happy and thankful I started crying.”
“My whole life has been about growing up [in] the forest and mountains, and I’m so grateful that I have been successful in doing what I love and able to transfer my passion to California,” Garbelotto added.
He also recalled memories tied to carrying out this honor: “I know this is corny,” Garbelotto said, “but in that place [where he is carrying the torch], on a high pass, my dad shared with me when I was 4 a secret place where edelweiss grow. Every year until I was an adult we would go look at them.” He continued: “I still remember the secret directions but I can’t tell you.”
The public can follow updates on Garbelotto’s participation via MilanoCortina2026 Instagram or through official event pages online.
Garbelotto has launched an initiative through GoFundMe aimed at supporting older guide dogs and service dogs who often end up homeless or surrendered after their working years.
Further information about his research work as director of UC Berkeley Forest Pathology and Mycology Laboratory can be found at www.matteolab.org
