Speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida set a new Olympic record on her 35th birthday on Saturday en route to winning Italy\u2019s first Olympic gold medal of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.<\/b>
\nTalk about a birthday to remember.
Speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida set a new Olympic record on her 35th birthday on Saturday en route to winning Italy\u2019s first Olympic gold medal of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
Lollobrigida skated the 3,000-meter race in a record 3 minutes, 54.28 seconds, trimming more than two-and-a-half seconds off the previous record set by Dutch skater Irene Schouten in the 2022 Beijing Games.
Lollobrigida finished about two seconds ahead of Norway\u2019s Ragne Wiklund, who earned the silver medal. Canada\u2019s Valerie Maltais received the bronze in an event that\u2019s typically dominated by the Netherlands.
This is actually the first time the Dutch missed out of the podium entirely since 2010.
The best part of Lollobrigida\u2019s win may have been the moment she shared with her young son, Tommaso, who was cheering her on from the stands.
This is Lollobrigida\u2019s fourth Olympics but first gold medal. She won silver in the 3,000-meter speed skate and bronze in the women\u2019s mass start event four years ago in Beijing.
Team USA initially wasn\u2019t expected to be represented in the 3,000-meter race. But Czech skater Martina Sablikova\u2019s withdrawal opened the door for 21-year-old American skater Greta Myers to compete for a medal. Ultimately, Myers finished in 20th place.
As of 2 p.m. ET, Italy leads the medal count with three. Sweden and Norway each have two medals, and Canada and Switzerland have one medal.
Team USA is still waiting for its first medal of this year\u2019s games.<\/p>\n