MILAN (AP) — Speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida won host Italy’s first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Games on Saturday, taking the women's 3,000 meters in an Olympics-record time.
With fans rising to their feet and roaring for her as she competed on her 35th birthday, Lollobrigida finished in 3 minutes, 54.28 seconds, more than two seconds ahead of runner-up Ragne Wiklund of Norway.
Valerie Maltais of Canada was third.
Lollobrigida is from Frascati, a hill town just outside Rome well-known for its white wine, and her great aunt was the late Gina Lollobrigida, a star actress of the 1950s and '60s.
This was the fourth Olympics for Francesca Lollobrigida, the mother of a 2-year-old son, and her first gold — indeed, the first for a woman from her nation in speedskating. She collected two medals at Beijing four years ago: a silver in the 3,000 and a bronze in the mass start.
As expected, she was greeted by a big cheer during the introductions before her heat, and Lollobrigida responded with a big smile and a big wave with both arms overhead, before covering her chest with her hands.
Racing with Maltais, Lollobrigida trailed at the first checkpoint. But the Italian kept gaining ground and, perhaps boosted by the loud support from her countrymen in the seats, surged on the final lap, arms swinging behind her.
How fast was she? Her time was not only much better than anyone else on the ice Saturday, it was more than 2 1/2 seconds faster than the Olympic mark set by Irene Schouten when she claimed the 3,000 gold at the 2022 Beijing Games.
There were four more skaters left to go after Lollobrigida was done, and as she waited to find out what would happen, she actually didn't want to watch much, frequently covering her eyes with her hands.
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