Patrick Thaler is a retired World Cup alpine ski racer from northern Italy. Born in Bolzano, South Tyrol, he specialized in the slalom. Thaler competed for Italy at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics but failed to finish. His best result from Alpine World Ski Championships is a seventh place in Val-d'Isère, France, in 2009.

Italy was the host nation for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. It was the second time that Italy had hosted the Winter Games and the third time overall. Italy's flag bearer for the opening ceremony was figure skater Carolina Kostner. Kostner's cousin, Isolde Kostner, was Italy's flag bearer at the 2002 Winter Olympics.