“I put my skates back on and explore new possibilities.”
One Instagram post turned Italy upside down. Written by Arianna Fontana (33). She is the gold medalist in the women’s 500m and 1500m silver medals in short track at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. A living legend who participated in the Olympics five times and set the record for the most medals in short track speed skating (11, 2 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze). She is also the Italian Winter Olympics’ most medal holder and the Italian athlete with the second most Olympic medals in both sports and gender. However, the conflict with the Italian Skating Federation is deep.
Fontana strongly criticized the Skating Federation through her article on the 25th (Korean time). “It’s been quite a while since I reported the issues I’ve been experiencing,” she said. Unfortunately, the promise made by the federation in April of last year was not kept,” she said. “All trust in the federation is gone,” she said.
Even at the Beijing Winter Olympics (February 2022), she publicly sniped at the federation. Because she had a disagreement over the appointment of a coach. “I hired her husband, Anthony Robello, to coach her,” Fontana said after her 500m gold medal in Beijing, and the Skating Federation was unhappy about that. It even prevented me from competing in the Olympics,” she claimed. “He proved to me today that he’s the greatest coach I’ve ever had,” she said of Fontana, who ran up to her husband after crossing the finish line and kissed her husband.
Although the conflict is already known, the ripple is big because Fontana hinted at naturalization. Fontana has been saying, “There is no nationality change,” but on this day, “I have to make an important decision, and a card I had never considered was on the desk.” Fontana is currently participating in training prepared by the United States. Furthermore, her husband, Coach Lobello, holds dual American and Italian citizenship.
Italy is in an emergency as it prepares for the 2026 Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics. Italy won two gold medals at the Beijing Games, one of which was won by Fontana. About 8% (11) of the total medals (141) that Italy has won in the past 100 years at the Winter Olympics belong to Fontana. According to the Olympic Charter, at least three years must have passed since his last Italian appearance if Fontana wants to play in the U.S. uniform at the next Olympics. Since the Milan competition opens on February 6, 2026, it is possible to participate after naturalization.바카라사이트
Eventually, even the government stepped in. “Fontana is not leaving Italy,” Italy’s Sports Minister Andrea Abodei said. However, the conflict between the ice skating federation and the players seems to be getting worse. The Skating Federation took a position after Fontana posted, saying, “We promised Fontana 200,000 euros (about 270 million won) annually, but it was far short of the amount he requested.” I will not,” he strongly opposes.