Italy’s wait for a golden moment at the Milan Games ended in unforgettable fashion on Saturday as long-track speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida delivered a performance that blended sporting excellence with raw emotion, and a celebration that quickly captured the world’s attention.
On her 35th birthday, Lollobrigida surged to victory in the women’s 3,000 metres, clocking an Olympic record time of 3:54.28 to secure the host nation’s first gold medal of the Games. Norway’s Ragne Wiklund finished more than two seconds behind to take silver in 3:56.54, while Canada’s Valérie Maltais claimed bronze with a time of 3:56.93.
Skating in front of a partisan Italian crowd, Lollobrigida roared on as she stayed ahead of record pace from the opening laps. When she crossed the finish line, the arena erupted, and moments later, so did social media. Draped in the Italian tricolour, she sprinted through the tunnel to embrace her two-year-old son, Tommaso, creating one of the defining images of the Games’ opening day.
“It feels like the perfect day,” Lollobrigida said after the race. “This is beyond what I imagined. It’s the dream of my dreams.” Her victory was far from assured when she stepped off the ice. Four skaters still remained, including two Dutch athletes from speedskating’s most dominant nation. As Norway’s Wiklund and Dutch world champion Marijke Groenewoud failed to eclipse her time, Lollobrigida was guaranteed a podium finish. The tension peaked during the final pairing featuring Canada’s Isabelle Weidemann and Dutch star Joy Beune, but neither could deny the Italian her gold.
As the final times confirmed her triumph, celebrations broke out across the arena. Lollobrigida, visibly emotional, hugged her husband and coach while cameras caught Tommaso mimicking skating movements in the stands, a moment that encapsulated the personal journey behind the medal.
Balancing elite sport and motherhood has been one of the defining challenges of Lollobrigida’s career in recent years. She gave birth to Tommaso in May 2023 and returned to competition just six months later. Since then, she has continued to add to her medal collection, including a European Championships bronze earlier this year, with her son again watching from the crowd.
“It’s not easy to be both an athlete and a mom,” she said. “I’m away from home almost 250 days a year. This medal is for me, for those who believed in me, and also for those who doubted me- because they gave me strength.” A silver and bronze medalist at the Beijing Games, Lollobrigida stepped away from competition shortly after those Olympics before returning with renewed purpose. Now competing in her fourth Olympic Games at an age once considered past peak for the sport she insists she is still improving.
The gold also came despite a disrupted build-up, with Lollobrigida revealing she had been unwell in the lead-up to the event. Still, when it mattered most, she delivered a flawless performance. Lollobrigida, the reigning world champion in the 5,000 metres, will return to the ice later in the Games with another chance to add to her medal tally. For now, she is savouring a moment that blends legacy, resilience and motherhood, and one that has already secured its place in Olympic memory.
