MILAN (AP) — Francesca Lollobrigida claimed her second gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Thursday, winning the women’s speedskating 5,000 meters by an incredibly narrow margin to the delight of the home crowd.
With fans rising to their feet and roaring on every lap, Lollobrigida finished in 6 minutes, 46.17 seconds — just 0.1 seconds faster than Merel Conijn of the Netherlands.
Ragne Wiklund of Norway, the runner-up to Lollobrigida in the 3,000 meters, was third, 0.17 seconds off the pace.
Lollobrigida won the 3,000 on Saturday, her 35th birthday, for host Italy's first gold medal.
That was her first gold in her fourth Olympics. In Beijing four years ago, she won silver in the 3,000 and bronze in the mass start while finishing fourth in the 5,000 — 8.25 seconds behind Irene Schouten, who won the distance event by 4.67 seconds.
Lollobrigida is from Frascati, a hill town just outside Rome known for its white wine, and her great aunt was the late Gina Lollobrigida, a film start of the 1950s and ’60s.
Also competing Thursday was Czech great Martina Sáblíková, who has three golds among her seven Olympic medals.
Sáblíková pulled out of the 3,000 because of a viral infection and had said she would be able to skate on Thursday but did not expect to contend. The 38-year-old finished nearly 21 seconds behind Lollobrigida.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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