Manuela Di Centa
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| Medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's cross country skiing | |||
| Olympic Games | |||
| Gold | 1994 Lillehammer | 15 km | |
| Gold | 1994 Lillehammer | 30 km | |
| Silver | 1994 Lillehammer | 5 km | |
| Silver | 1994 Lillehammer | 5 km + 10 km combined pursuit | |
| Bronze | 1992 Albertville | 4 x 5 km | |
| Bronze | 1994 Lillehammer | 4 x 5 km | |
| Bronze | 1998 Nagano | 4 x 5 km | |
| World Championships | |||
| Silver | 1991 Val di Fiemme | 4 x 5 km | |
| Silver | 1993 Falun | 30 km | |
| Silver | 1993 Falun | 4 x 5 km | |
| Silver | 1995 Thunder Bay | 30 km | |
| Bronze | 1991 Val di Fiemme | 5 km | |
| Bronze | 1991 Val di Fiemme | 30 km | |
| Bronze | 1995 Thunder Bay | 5 km | |
Manuela Di Centa (born January 31, 1963) is an Italian cross-country skier and former Olympic athlete.
Contents |
[edit] Career
Di Centa, born in Paluzza, province of Udine, to a family of nordic skiers, made her debut on the Italian national team in 1980 at the age of 17. Two years later, she competed at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo finishing in eighth place. After a quarrel with the president of the Italian Skiing Federation, Di Centa left the national team, not returning until 1986.
At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, she finished sixth in the 20 km classic. She won her first medals in international competition at the 1991 World Championships in Val di Fiemme: a silver (4 x 5 km) and two bronzes (5 km, 30 km). An Olympic medal followed in 1992, a bronze in the 4 x 5 km. In 1993, at the Falun World Championships, she won two more silvers (30 km, 4 x 5 km). At the 1995 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, she won another silver (30 km) and a bronze (5 km).
Di Centa seemed confined to the role of the eternal second, but this changed abruptly at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, where she medaled in all five cross-country events: two gold, two silver and one bronze medal. The same year she also won her first aggregate Cross Country Skiing World Cup, a feat she repeated in 1996.
In 1996 she was the first Italian cross country skier to receive the Holmenkollen Medal. Her last title was a bronze at the 1998 Winter Olympics in the 4 x 5 km.
After retiring, Di Centa worked for Italian television (RAI), and became a member of the Italian and International Olympic Committees.
Di Centa became the first Italian woman to climb Mount Everest in 2003.
Her younger brother Giorgio is currently a member of the Italian national cross country ski team and was the winner of two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics.
[edit] 2006 Winter Olympics
As a member of the International Olympic Committee and the Italian Olympic Committee and as one of Italy's most accomplished Winter Olympic athletes, Di Centa played a prominent public role in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. She was one of the eight flag bearers during the Opening Ceremonies. At the Closing Ceremonies, she participated in the awarding of medals to the winners of the men's 50 km cross-country race. Coincidentally, the gold medal winner was her younger brother Giorgio Di Centa.
[edit] Doping and rivalry with Belmondo
Di Centa was never discovered using doping in cross country skiing. She was, however, one of the athletes treated by Dr. Francesco Conconi, from Ferrara, who was tried for treating athletes with EPO. While competing, Di Centa had an intense rivalry with Stefania Belmondo, the other Italian leading cross-country skier during the 1990s. Though never confirmed, it has been suggested that their rivalry stemmed from Belmondo's opposition of illegal practices of Di Centa.
[edit] Politics
Manuela Di Centa, who is currently vice-president of the National Council of CONI (the Italian Olympic Committee), is also involved in politics and is a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Forza Italia.
[edit] External links
- FIS Profile
- Holmenkollen medalists - click Holmenkollmedaljen for downloadable pdf file (Norwegian)
- List of athletes treated by Francesco Conconi (Italian)
- Official website (Italian)
1992: Lyubov Yegorova * 1994: Manuela Di Centa * 1998: Olga Danilova * 2002: Stefania Belmondo
As 20 km - 1984: Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen * 1988: Tamara Tikhonova
As 30 km - 1992: Stefania Belmondo * 1994: Manuela Di Centa * 1998: Yuliya Chepalova * 2002: Gabriella Paruzzi * 2006: Kateřina Neumannová
| Preceded by Kenji Ogiwara |
Holmenkollen medal 1996 |
Succeeded by Bjarte Engen Vik, Stefania Belmondo, & Bjørn Dæhlie |
Categories: 1963 births | Competitors at the 1988 Winter Olympics | Competitors at the 1992 Winter Olympics | Competitors at the 1994 Winter Olympics | Competitors at the 1998 Winter Olympics | Holmenkollen medalists | IOC members | Living people | People from Friuli-Venezia Giulia | Olympic gold medalists for Italy | Olympic silver medalists for Italy | Olympic bronze medalists for Italy | Winter Olympics medalists
