Italy’s Lollobrigida wins 3000m speed skating gold on birthday

Francesca Lollobrigida won host Italy’s first gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, finishing the 3000m in 3:54.28 on her birthday.bbc
Her time shattered Irene Schouten‘s Olympic record from 2022 Beijing by more than two seconds in front of a roaring home crowd.nbcolympics
Norway’s Ragne Wiklund took silver and Canada’s Valérie Maltais earned bronze, her first individual Olympic medal in either form of speed skating.nbcolympics

Italy’s Francesca Lollobrigida Sets Olympic Record in Speed Skating 3000m

Speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida delivered a birthday present to herself and a gift to her nation on Saturday, claiming Italy’s first gold medal of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics with an Olympic record performance in the women’s 3000 meters.

The 35-year-old crossed the finish line at Milano Ice Park in 3 minutes, 54.28 seconds, more than two seconds faster than the previous Olympic mark set by Dutch legend Irene Schouten at the 2022 Beijing Games. With the home crowd rising to their feet and roaring throughout her race, Lollobrigida became the first Italian woman to win an Olympic gold medal in speed skating.bbc

A Historic Victory for Italy

Norway’s Ragne Wiklund, the world’s top-ranked long distance skater entering the competition, claimed silver with a time of 3:56.54, while Canada’s Valérie Maltais rounded out the podium in 3:56.93. Joy Beune of the Netherlands, the reigning world champion, finished just off the podium in fourth.nbcolympics

For Wiklund, the silver medal marked Norway’s first women’s Olympic speed skating podium finish since Bjørg Eva Jensen won the 3000m in 1980. Maltais, a former short track specialist, claimed her first individual Olympic medal in either discipline, adding to the team pursuit gold she helped Canada win in Beijing.cbc

Racing alongside Maltais in her heat, Lollobrigida trailed at the first checkpoint but steadily gained ground, surging on the final lap with arms swinging behind her as the Italian crowd’s volume intensified. After finishing, she frequently covered her eyes with her hands, barely able to watch as the final skaters completed their races.durangoherald

From Beijing Silver to Milan Gold

This was the fourth Olympics for Lollobrigida, a four-time Olympian from Frascati, a hill town outside Rome, and the great-niece of late actress Gina Lollobrigida. She arrived in Milan seeking to improve on her Beijing performance, where she won silver in the 3000m and bronze in the mass start.ksl

Lollobrigida, now a mother of a 2-year-old son, had won the 5000m at the 2025 World Single Distances Championships in Hamar, establishing herself among the world’s elite heading into the home Olympics.isu-skating

Speed skating competition continues Sunday with the men’s 5000m at Milano Ice Park, part of the temporarily constructed venue at the Fiera Milano exhibition center.nbcolympics