Today, from Budapest, Hungary, with the first World Cup seasonal stage, Italy's short track speed skating path of qualification began for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang 2018. The Italian athletes under head coach, Kenan Gouadec are in fact engaged in the first of four crucial appointments to achieve the Olympic dream and have reached Budapest after covering a long road along which they started out months ago with a summer preparation which came to a head in the last official tests in September in Courmayeur and Heerenveen.

Twelve athletes have been selected, all of whom will face the European stages in Budapest (Hungary) and Dordrecht (Holland) within a period of ten days so as to accumulate as many cards as possible for the Olympic event. Scheduled for November, in Shanghai and Seoul, are the last two trials which will produce a final picture of all the qualified athletes, with 32 cards for each distance (500, 1000 and 1500), 8 places for the men’s and 8 for the women’s relays. Each country can field up to 5 men and 5 women in case of relay qualifications; but not more than 3 men and 3 women in the individual distances.

"We are confident because we have worked well and things appear comforting – says Italian team coach Kenan Gouadec -. In the last few days we had some problems with the ice but today it was perfect and we performed very well. We have all the determination it takes to face such a major appointment: I feel sure our athletes will do the country proud and manage to bag the first crucial points for Olympic qualification".

These are the athletes selected for the first two stages of the World Cup: Arianna Fontana (Fiamme Gialle Predazzo), Arianna Valcepina (Fiamme Gialle Predazzo), Martina Valcepina (Fiamme Gialle Predazzo) Elena Viviani (Fiamme Gialle Predazzo), Tommaso Dotti Fiamme Oro Moena), Lucia Peretti (CS Esercito Courmayeur), Mattia Antonioli (Bormio Ghiaccio), Andrea Cassinelli (VG Torino), Davide Viscardi (Agorà Skating Team Milano), Cecilia Maffei (Fiamme Azzurre), Nicola Rodigari (Carabinieri Selva di Val Gardena) and Yuri Confortola (Carabinieri Selva di Val Gardena).

These instead are the Italian team members chosen by coach Gouadec to perform on ice today and tomorrow in the qualifying rounds:
Men: Cassinelli (500, 1000), Dotti (1000, 1500), Confortola (1000, 1500), Viscardi (500), Antonioli (500), Rodigari (1500).
Women: Fontana (500, 1000, 1500), Peretti (500, 1000, 1500), M. Valcepina (500), Viviani (1000), Maffei (1500).