02/12/26 11:19:00
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02/12 11:17 CST Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy gets a 2nd Milan Cortina gold,
winning the 5,000 by 0.1 seconds
Francesca Lollobrigida of Italy gets a 2nd Milan Cortina gold, winning the
5,000 by 0.1 seconds
By DANIELLA MATAR
AP Sports Writer
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 Sblkov, who has three golds
among her seven Olympic medals.
Sblkov 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.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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