Italian speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida, the current women’s world champion in the 5,000-meter event, won an Olympic gold medal on Thursday by triumphing in the 3,000 meters in Milan on her 35th birthday. Lollobrigida claimed Italy’s first gold medal, crossing the finish line in six minutes and 46.17 seconds, narrowly edging out Dutch skater Merel Conijn by 10-100ths of a second. Norway’s Ragne Wiklund secured the bronze at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium with a time of 6:46.34.
Expressing her joy, Lollobrigida stated, “I’m feeling amazing. For me, it was important because last year I won the world title in this distance. To repeat myself again with the Olympic title is a dream.” However, Isabelle Weidemann from Ottawa, who had won a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, finished in fifth place with a time of 6:50.08, falling short of the podium by nearly four seconds.
Weidemann remarked, “I’m a little bit disappointed, to be honest. I wanted to be on the podium today really badly.” She finished fifth in the women’s 3,000 meters on Saturday after claiming bronze in the same event in China four years ago.
Laura Hall from Salmon Arm, B.C., also competed on Thursday, finishing ninth in 7:02.90 at her first Olympics. Meanwhile, Czech skater Martina Sablikova, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, opted out of the 3,000 meters due to a viral infection and finished in 11th place.
Looking ahead, Weidemann is anticipated to defend the women’s team pursuit gold alongside her Canadian teammates Valérie Maltais and Ivanie Blondin. The trio will compete in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET, aiming to secure another victory after their success in Beijing in 2022.
In other events, moguls skier Mikaël Kingsbury and snowboarder Éliot Grondin earned silver medals, adding to Canada’s medal count in Milan. Canada is yet to secure a gold medal at the games, holding three silver and three bronze medals.
The Canadian team remains hopeful as they strive for more podium finishes in the ongoing Winter Olympics in Italy.
