Italian speed skater Arianna Fontana

Arianna Fontana is an Italian short-track speed skater. During her career, she won 11 medals at the Winter Olympic Games, including two gold at 500m in PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, becoming the Italian woman with the most medals ever at the Olympic Games (winter and summer). Arianna Fontana is a winner of two World Cups over the distance of 500m, she was also graduated European Champion 7 times and reached the podium of the World Championships 4 times (silver in Moscow 2015, bronze in Sheffield 2011, Shanghai 2012 and Dordrecht 2021).

Arianna Fontana was born on April 14, 1990, in Sondrio, Italy. She started skating at the age of four, initially on roller skates before switching to ice skating.

Arianna Fontana debuted in the national team at the age of 15 in the World Cup and also she finished in second place at the 2006 European Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Krynica-Zdrój, with three podium finishes at the distances of 500m, 1,500m, and 3,000m.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, she won bronze in the 3,000m relay. With this medal, Arianna Fontana became the youngest Italian athlete to have won a medal at the Winter Olympic Games, at the age of 15 years and 314 days, and she is awarded the title of the Knights of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.

In the 2006/2007 season, she won her first World Cup victories at the 500 m and in the relay. He closed the season with a second position in the general classification of the 500m and won a silver medal in the 500m at the World Championships in Milan. In the following two seasons, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009, she won the podium in the World Cup in the 500m and in the relay and then conquered the European titles both in Ventspils and in Turin.

In the 2009/2010 World Cup, Arianna Fontana fails to get any podium, but her placements still allow her to access the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. At the European Championships in Dresden in January she finished the competition in second place. At the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, she gets the bronze medal in the 500m, the first individual Olympic medal of an Italian athlete in Short Track.

The following season, Arianna Fontana conquered some podiums in the World Cup, the European title in Heerenveen and, for the first time in her career, a bronze medal at the World Championships (held in Sheffield).

In the 2011/2012 World Cup season, she won 5 gold medals in Saguenay (500m), Nagoya (500m and 1,500m), Shanghai (500m) and Dordrecht (500m), finishing in first place in the general classification of the 2012 Short Track World Cup in the 500m specialty and becoming the first Italian skater to win the short track World Cup. The season ends with the conquest of the fourth European title and repeating third place in the World Championships in Shanghai, with a silver in the 500m and a second position in the 3,000m SuperFinal.

The following two seasons were preparatory for the Sochi 2014 Olympis. During the first season, Arianna Fontana was held back by a few injuries, but she finished on the podium precisely in the World Cup stage held in the city intended to host the Olympics. Arianna Fontana also get the fifth European title, won in Malmo. During the second, the World Cup program was reduced to just 4 stages in view of the Olympics and she climbed onto the podium in Seoul, Turin, and Kolomna, where she won a gold medal over the 1,000m distance. At the European Championships in Dresden, she finished in third place, behind the Dutch Jorien ter Mors and the British Elise Christie.

Arianna Fontana arrived at the Sochi 2014 Olympics with the stated goal of reaching the final in the three individual distances (500m, 1,000m, and 1,500m) and in the relay. In the end, she won the silver at the 500m, and bronze medals at the 1,500m and 3,000m relay.

Arianna Fontana won nine medals (5 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze) in the next World Cup season. At the 2015 World Championships in Moscow, she won the silver medal in the general classification, winning gold at 1,500m, bronze at 500m and 1,000m, and bronze in the relay.

In the following 2015/2016 season, Arianna Fontana decided to take a break from the short track, returning only in the last two European stages of the World Cup and contributing to the conquest of gold medals together with her relay teammates.

In 2017 she won two medals in the World Cup stages of Calgary and Shanghai. She also won the gold medal in the 1,500m at the European Championships in Turin. She closed the season by winning the military world championships in Sochi and the Italian championships in Courmayeur. At the European Championships in Dresden, she won her seventh continental title, thanks to second place in the 500m final, victory in the 1,000m, and second position in the 3,000m SuperFinal.

For the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics Arianna Fontana is Italy’s flag bearer, on the occasion of the opening ceremony. She won her first Olympic gold at 500m and at the same time set her new personal best (42.569 sec). During the games, she also won the bronze at the 1,000m and the 3,000m relay.

After having competed in the Olympics, in 2019 Arianna Fontana decides to take a second break from Short Track. The return to racing takes place in the 2019/2020 season, with the stated goal of trying to win the World Championship in Seoul scheduled for March 2020. She wins 4 medals both in the initial stages of the World Cup in Salt Lake City and Nagoya, as well as the silver at the European Championship in Debrecen. However, the coronavirus pandemic determines the cancellation of the World Championship. Due to differences with the federation, in September 2020 Arianna Fontana moved to Budapest and began training with the Hungarian Short Track national team. She did not participate in the European Championships in Gdansk, but she won three medals at the World Championships in Dordrecht, finishing the competition in third position.

The World Cup stages leading up to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, see Arianna Fontana in excellent form. She always goes on the podium in the 500m (winning the Nagoya stage) thus conquering again, 9 years later, the short track World Cup. During the Beijing 2022 Olympics, she made her debut on the first day of competition with a silver medal in the new distance of the medley relay, who in the final came just a few thousandths from the winner China. Two days later, she confirmed herself as the Olympic champion in the 500m. On the last day of the competition, she nearly won a silver in the 1,500m.

With this latest medal, became the Italian athlete with the most medals at the Winter Olympic Games, thus becoming the most medalist ever in these competitions.

Arianna Fontana photos