Arianna Fontana

Last updated

Arianna Fontana
Arianna Fontana Sochi ST1500m 09 (cropped).jpg
Fontana in Sochi 2014
Personal information
Born (1990-04-14) 14 April 1990 (age 33)
Sondrio, Italy
Height1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight63 kg (139 lb) [1]
Sport
CountryItaly
Sport Short 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 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Event1st2nd3rd
Olympic Games 245
World Championships 1610
World Team Championships 001
European Championships 22136
Total252322
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2018 Pyeongchang 500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2022 Beijing 500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2014 Sochi 500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2018 Pyeongchang 3000 m relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2022 Beijing 1500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2022 Beijing 2000 m mixed relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Turin 3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Vancouver 500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2014 Sochi 1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2014 Sochi 3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2018 Pyeongchang 1000 m
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 Moscow 1500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2007 Milan 500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2011 Sheffield 500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2011 Sheffield1000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2012 Shanghai 500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2015 MoscowOverall
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2021 Dordrecht 500m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Minneapolis 3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2011 SheffieldOverall
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2012 ShanghaiOverall
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2014 Montreal 3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2015 Moscow500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2015 Moscow 1000 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2015 Moscow3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2021 DordrechtOverall
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2021 Dordrecht3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Rotterdam 1000 m
European Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2006 Krynica-Zdrój 3000 m relay
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2008 Ventspils 1500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2008 VentspilsOverall
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2009 Turin 500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2009 Turin1000 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2009 TurinOverall
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2010 Dresden 500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2010 Dresden1500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2011 Heerenveen 1000 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2011 Heerenveen1500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2011 HeerenveenOverall
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Mlada Boleslav 500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2012 Mlada Boleslav1500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2012 Mlada BoleslavOverall
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2013 Malmö 500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2013 MalmöOverall
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2014 Dresden 500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2017 Turin 1500 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2017 TurinOverall
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2017 Turin3000 m relay
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2018 Dresden 1000 m
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2018 DresdenOverall
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2006 Krynica-Zdrój1000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2006 Krynica-ZdrójOverall
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2007 Sheffield 3000 m relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2008 Ventspils1000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2010 DresdenOverall
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2012 Mlada Boleslav3000 m relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2013 Malmö1000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2013 Malmö1500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2015 Dordrecht 1000 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2018 Dresden500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2020 Debrecen 1500 m
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2020 DebrecenOverall
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2020 Debrecen3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2006 Krynica-Zdrój1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2007 Sheffield1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2009 Turin1500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2011 Heerenveen3000 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2014 DresdenOverall
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2020 Debrecen1000 m
World Junior Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg2009 Sherbrooke3000 m relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2008 Bolzano2000 m relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2009 Sherbrooke500 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2008 Bolzano1500 m

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]

Contents

Biography

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

Edition500m1000m1500m3000m relay2000m mixed relay
2006 winter Olympics Turijn 116Bronze medal.svgN/A
2010 winter Olympics Vancouver Bronze medal.svg1496
2014 winter Olympics Sochi Silver medal.svgPENBronze medal.svgBronze medal.svg
2018 winter Olympics Peyonchang Gold medal.svgBronze medal.svg7Silver medal.svg
2022 winter Olympics Beijing Gold medal.svgPENSilver medal.svg5Silver medal.svg
Best resultsGold medal.svgBronze medal.svgSilver medal.svgSilver medal.svgSilver medal.svg

See also

Related Research Articles

Christine Diane Witty is an American speed skater and racing cyclist and participated in the Olympic Games in both sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Short-track speed skating at the Winter Olympics</span>

Short-track speed skating has been a contest at the Winter Olympics since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, France. Prior to that, it was a demonstration sport at the 1988 games. The results from the 1988 demonstration competition are not included in the official Olympic statistics. The sport has been dominated by teams from East Asia and North America, namely South Korea, China, Canada and the United States. Those four countries have won 147 of 195 medals awarded since 1992. South Korea leads the medal tally, with 53 medals including 26 golds since 1992. The majority of medals that South Korea and China have won at the Winter Olympics come from short-track speed skating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Lobello Jr.</span> Short track speed skater

Anthony J. Lobello Jr. is a retired short track speed skater, inline speed skater, and coach who competed for the United States at the 2006 Winter Olympics and for Italy at the 2014 Winter Olympics. He also competed in the US team's 2010 Olympics qualifying event, held in Marquette, Michigan in September 2009, although he was not selected for the team after being hampered by illness during the trials.

Jessica Gregg is a former Canadian short track speed skater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne St-Gelais</span> Canadian short-track speed skater

Marianne St-Gelais is a Canadian former short track speed skater. She won two silver medals in the 500 m and 3,000 m relay at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, and a third silver in the 3,000 m relay at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Reutter</span> American speed skater (born 1988)

Katherine Reutter-Adamek is an American short track speed skater. She is a two-time medalist in the Winter Olympics, 2011 overall world silver medalist and the 2010–2011 overall ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elise Christie</span> British short-track speed skater

Elise Christie is a British former short track speed skater. She was coached by Nicky Gooch and she specialised in the 1000m event. She is ten times a European gold medallist, including two overall European titles in 2015 and 2016. In the 2017 World Championships in Rotterdam she won world titles in the 1000m and 1500m events, as well as the overall gold, the first British woman and first European woman to do so.

Choi Min-jeong is a South Korean short track speed skater. She is a three-time Olympic Champion, a four-time World Champion, Four Continents Champion (2020), and the current world record holder for 1500m. Along with Chun Lee-kyung and Jin Sun-yu, Choi is widely regarded as one of the best female Korean short track speed skaters of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Boutin</span> Canadian speed skater

Kim Boutin is a Canadian short track speed skater. Boutin won silver in the 1,000 m and bronze in the 500 m and 1,500 m events at the 2018 Winter Olympics at Pyeonchang, Korea. She was the first Canadian female short track speed skater to win three individual Olympic medals in a single Olympics and the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in the 1,500 m. As a result of her three medal performance she was named the flag bearer for Canada at the closing ceremonies for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Boutin has also won junior and senior world championships and World Cup medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italy at the 2018 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Italy competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 120 competitors in 14 sports. They won ten medals in total, three gold, two silver and five bronze, ranking 12th in the medal table. Short-track speed skater Arianna Fontana, who was also the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, was the country's most successful athlete, having won three medals, one of each color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands at the 2018 Winter Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

The Netherlands competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, between 9 and 25 February 2018. Speed skater Jan Smeekens was appointed as flag bearer for the opening ceremony, which was attended by King Willem Alexander, Queen Máxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who also observed the sporting events that featured Dutch competitors.

Kathryn Thomson is a British short track speed skater who competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China.

The Women’s 500 metres in short track speed skating at the 2018 Winter Olympics took place from 10 to 13 February 2018 at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isabelle Weidemann</span> Canadian speed skater

Isabelle Weidemann is a Canadian speed skater. She is a multiple Olympic medallist, winning gold in the team pursuit, silver in the 5,000 metre, and bronze in the 3,000 metre at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She is the third Canadian ever to have won more than two medals at a single Winter Olympic Games following Cindy Klassen and Gaétan Boucher. Weidemann also previously won a silver and bronze medal at the 2021 and 2020 World Single Distance Championships in women's team pursuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alessia Tornaghi</span> Italian figure skater

Alessia Tornaghi is an Italian figure skater. She is a two-time Italian national champion and the 2019 Golden Bear of Zagreb champion. On the junior level, she is the 2019 JGP Italy bronze medalist.

The women's 500 metres competition in short track speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 5 February (heats) and 7 February (finals), at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Arianna Fontana of Italy won the event, replicating her success in 2018. Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands took the silver, setting the Olympic record in one of the heats, and Kim Boutin of Canada won the bronze.

The women's 1000 metres competition in short track speed skating at the 2022 Winter Olympics was held on 9 February (heats) and 11 February (finals), at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing. Suzanne Schulting of the Netherlands won the gold medal and thereby successfully defended her 2018 title. In the semifinal, Schulting set the new world record. Choi Min-jeong won the silver medal, and Hanne Desmet of Belgium the bronze. Desmet's medal was the first ever Belgian medal in short track speed skating and only the seventh Belgian medal at the Winter Olympics.

Steven Dubois is a Canadian short-track speed skater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence Brunelle</span> Canadian short-track speed skater

Florence Brunelle is a Canadian short-track speed skater.

References

  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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 3 4 "Arianna Fontana". Olympics on NBC . Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 "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" . Retrieved 20 February 2018.
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Pyeongchang 2018
Succeeded by