Arianna Fontana sets Italian Olympic record with 14th medal

Arianna Fontana made history on Wednesday by winning her 14th Olympic medal, helping Italy secure silver in the women’s short track speed skating 3,000 metres relay at the Milano Cortina 2026. At 35, Fontana surpasses fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti, who won 13 medals between 1936 and 1960, to become Italy’s most decorated Olympian.

Her medal tally also places her joint second in the all-time Winter Olympic standings, just one behind Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen. Fontana’s record includes gold in the mixed relay in Milano Cortina and two individual 500m titles from Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022, alongside silver in the women’s 500m at the current Games.

Fontana first won an Olympic medal 20 years ago at Torino 2006, taking bronze in the 3,000m relay at just 15 years and 314 days old, making her the youngest Italian Winter Olympic medallist.

“Even though it’s my 14th, winning it like this is truly incredible,” Fontana said after Wednesday’s final. “The crowd was fantastic. I have no words, I had a drop in my blood pressure in the locker room… It was a team effort. Every single one of us. No one excluded.”

Italy criticises IPC decision over Russian and Belarussian flags

In other news from the Games, the Italian government has strongly criticised the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympics.

Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi said in a statement that Russia’s ongoing violations of the truce and Olympic ideals, supported by Belarus, make national participation “incompatible,” limiting athletes to neutral status.