Wikipedia

Arianna Fontana

Arianna Fontana OMRI (born 14 April 1990) is an Italian short track speed skater, who has won eleven Olympic medals among these two gold medals in the 500m short track, one at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the second one at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Her medal haul following the 2022 Games made her the short track skater with the most Olympic medals.[2] It also made her the Italian sportswoman with the highest number of Winter Olympic medals, one more than Stefania Belmondo.[3] She specializes in the 500 m event.[4]

Arianna Fontana
Fontana in Sochi 2014
Personal information
Born (1990-04-14) 14 April 1990 (age 34)
Sondrio, Italy
Height1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb)[1]
Sport
CountryItaly
SportShort track speed skating
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)500 m: 42.033 (2021)
1000 m: 1:26.811 (2022)
1500 m: 2:15.753 (2016)
3000 m: 5:01.187
Medal record
Women's short track speed skating
Representing  Italy
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 2 4 5
World Championships 1 6 10
World Team Championships 0 0 1
European Championships 22 13 6
Total 25 23 22
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2022 Beijing 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2014 Sochi 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2018 Pyeongchang 3000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2022 Beijing 2000 m mixed relay
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Turin 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Sochi 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Sochi 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Pyeongchang 1000 m
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Moscow 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2007 Milan 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2011 Sheffield 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2011 Sheffield 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2012 Shanghai 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2015 Moscow Overall
Silver medal – second place 2021 Dordrecht 500m
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Minneapolis 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Sheffield Overall
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Shanghai Overall
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Montreal 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Moscow 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Moscow 1000 m
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Moscow 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Dordrecht Overall
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Dordrecht 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Rotterdam 1000 m
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Krynica-Zdrój 3000 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2008 Ventspils 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2008 Ventspils Overall
Gold medal – first place 2009 Turin 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2009 Turin 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2009 Turin Overall
Gold medal – first place 2010 Dresden 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2010 Dresden 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2011 Heerenveen 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2011 Heerenveen 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2011 Heerenveen Overall
Gold medal – first place 2012 Mlada Boleslav 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2012 Mlada Boleslav 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2012 Mlada Boleslav Overall
Gold medal – first place 2013 Malmö 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2013 Malmö Overall
Gold medal – first place 2014 Dresden 500 m
Gold medal – first place 2017 Turin 1500 m
Gold medal – first place 2017 Turin Overall
Gold medal – first place 2017 Turin 3000 m relay
Gold medal – first place 2018 Dresden 1000 m
Gold medal – first place 2018 Dresden Overall
Silver medal – second place 2006 Krynica-Zdrój 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2006 Krynica-Zdrój Overall
Silver medal – second place 2007 Sheffield 3000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2008 Ventspils 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2010 Dresden Overall
Silver medal – second place 2012 Mlada Boleslav 3000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2013 Malmö 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2013 Malmö 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2015 Dordrecht 1000 m
Silver medal – second place 2018 Dresden 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2020 Debrecen 1500 m
Silver medal – second place 2020 Debrecen Overall
Silver medal – second place 2020 Debrecen 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Krynica-Zdrój 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Sheffield 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Turin 1500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Heerenveen 3000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Dresden Overall
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Debrecen 1000 m
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2009 Sherbrooke 3000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2008 Bolzano 2000 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2009 Sherbrooke 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Bolzano 1500 m

Biography

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Fontana started skating at the age of four, following in the footsteps of her brother Alessandro,[5] initially on roller skates before switching to ice skating.[6] She first trained in Lanzada until the rink there closed, when she switched her training base to Bormio.[7]

Fontana made her international championship debut at the 2006 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Krynica-Zdrój, where she took the overall silver medal.[5] At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, she won bronze in the 3000 m relay. She placed 11th in the 500m and 6th in the 1000 m. The relay medal was the first for Italy in short track speed skating: at 15 years of age, Fontana became the youngest Italian to win a Winter Olympic medal.[4] Following the 2006 Games, Fontana and her relay team-mates were appointed Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.[8]

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, she won a bronze medal in the 500-metre event, was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 1500 metre event, and was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the 1000 metre event. Her 500m bronze made her the first Italian to take an individual Olympic medal in short track.[4]

Fontana began dating Italian-American skater Anthony Lobello Jr. in 2012: the couple were engaged the following year[9] and married in May 2014 in Colico.[10] The couple split their time between homes in Valtellina, Courmayeur and Tallahassee, Florida.[11]

At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, she was upgraded from a bronze to a silver medal in the 500 m event after colliding with British skater Elise Christie. Christie was disqualified after causing a crash in the final. She won a bronze medal in the 1500 m event and the Team-event and was disqualified in the 1000 m event. Following the Games, Lobello began coaching Fontana following his retirement from competition.[12] The following year Fontana took her first title at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, winning the gold in the 1500m and taking the overall silver.[4]

In October 2017, Fontana was named as Italy's flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.[13] She was the first short track skater to be selected as flag bearer for the Italian Olympic team and the second flag bearer from the Italian Ice Sports Federation, after Carolina Kostner.[5] She won her first Olympic gold medal there, in the 500 m event.[14] She was the first European to win a 500 m Olympic gold.[3] She also won silver in the team event and bronze in the 1000 m event, becoming the woman with the most medals in the sport. It also meant that she had won Olympic medals at every contested distance.[3]

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, she won three more medals: a silver in the 2000 m mixed relay event, a silver in the 1500 m event, and a gold in the 500 m event, bringing her total medal count to 11 Olympic medals. This made her the Italian sportswoman with the highest number of Winter Olympic medals and elevated her to the rank of second-most decorated Italian athlete in Olympic history, behind Edoardo Mangiarotti.

Olympic results

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Edition 500m 1000m 1500m 3000m relay 2000m mixed relay
2006 winter Olympics Turin 11 6   N/A
2010 winter Olympics Vancouver   14 9 6
2014 winter Olympics Sochi   PEN    
2018 winter Olympics Pyeongchang     7  
2022 winter Olympics Beijing   PEN   5  
Best results          

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Profile. Arianna Fontana". eurosport.com. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. ^ "How Arianna Fontana quietly skated into short track history". NBC Sports. 24 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Dolfin, Alberto (24 February 2018). "Arianna Fontana, la buonanotte con le medaglie e i dubbi sul futuro" [Arianna Fontana, goodnight with medals and doubts about the future 2019]. La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d "Arianna Fontana". Olympics on NBC. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  5. ^ a b c "Arianna Fontana will be the flag bearer for Italy at PyeongChang 2018". Italian National Olympic Committee. 24 October 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Arianna Fontana, una vita da vincente. I complimenti di Malagò" [Arianna Fontana, a winning life. The compliments of Malagò]. ansa.it (in Italian). 14 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  7. ^ "Olimpiadi invernali, oro per Arianna Fontana. Anthony, i pattini e i tatuaggi: tutti i segreti di Arianna" [Winter Olympics, gold for Arianna Fontana. Anthony, skates and tattoos: all the secrets of Arianna]. sky.it (in Italian). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  8. ^ Vanier, Selina (10 January 2017). "Featured interview: Arianna Fontana (ITA)". International Skating Union. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  9. ^ Zaccardi, Nick (2 February 2014). "Anthony Lobello's country switch a Winter Olympic first". Olympics on NBC. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  10. ^ Landrini, Fabio (1 June 2014). "Colico, matrimonio all'americana per Arianna Fontana" [Colico – American wedding for Arianna Fontana]. Il Giorno (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  11. ^ Pizzimenti, Chiara (19 November 2017). "Arianna Fontana: pattini, Florida e tricolore" [Arianna Fontana: skates, Florida and the Italian flag]. vanityfair.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  12. ^ "For Italy's Arianna Fontana, road to Olympic speed skating gold runs through Tallahassee". tallahassee.com. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Olympics: Fontana to be flag carrier". ansa.it/. Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA). 20 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Final results". Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
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Olympic Games
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