Arianna Fontana breaks records! After the silver in the relay, she becomes the most medalist Italian ever at the Olympics

There is a moment, in the last lap of the women’s 3000 meter relay at Milan-Cortina 2026, when time seems to stop. Italy crosses the finish line in second place behind a comeback South Korea and that means only one thing: another splendid Olympic silver medal won. But inside that second place there is much more: there is Arianna Fontana’s 14th Olympic medal which thus officially becomes the most medalist ever in Italian sport.

With her on the podium Arianna Sighel, Elisa Confortola and Chiara Betti. Gold to South Korea, bronze to Canada after the fall of the Netherlands which changed the balance of the final. An intense match, anything but predictable, which gives the blue captain another piece of legend.

Overtaking Mangiarotti and the new Italian record

With this silver, Fontana definitively surpasses Edoardo Mangiarotti, a fencer with 13 Olympic medals. Now she is alone at the top with 14 podiums won in 20 years of the Olympics from Turin 2006 to Milan-Cortina 2026. Behind her, the ranking of the Italians and the most medaled Italians at the Games tells us only of great champions Stefania Belmondo (cross-country skiing) with 10 medals and Valentina Vezzali and Giulio Guadini, both fencers stuck at 9 medals. But it’s not just the quantity that demonstrates the greatness of this athlete. In fact, with 3 Winter Olympic gold medals, Arianna Fontana joins Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni among the most successful Italians.

Six consecutive Olympic medals

It doesn’t end here because the records broken by the short track skater are many. From the bronze at the Turin Olympics – won at just 15 years old, the youngest ever – to the home podium in 2026: Fontana has medaled in six consecutive editions. A feat achieved, among the Italians, only by Armin Zöggeler. His Olympic palmarès shows impressive continuity: 3 gold, 6 silver and 5 bronze.

A specialist in the 500 meters and relays, she has been able to reinvent herself, remain competitive, lead a new generation. Finally, with 14 medals, Fontana is the second athlete to have won the most medals in the history of the Winter Olympic Games, on a par with Ole Einar Bjørndalen and behind only Marit Bjørgen (15). Among ice sports, however, his is an absolute record.

Leadership that goes beyond medals

At 35 years old, Fontana is not just a champion: she is the captain, the technical and emotional point of reference of the team. In the relay, every change is pure trust, every push is a declaration of character. This silver is yet another confirmation of extraordinary longevity, of a champion who has gone through generations, pressures, falls and restarts. Arianna Fontana didn’t simply update a record: she rewrote the hierarchy of Italian and world sport.

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