Italy storms the European Short Track Championships underway at the Palavela arena in Turin. They won three medals, including a sparkling gold that tops off a day of emotions and entertainment. The star of the show was Arianna Fontana, who secured her status as the queen of the discipline: she finished top in the European event’s 1500 metres, at the end of a comeback that allowed her to overtake Russia’s Sofia Prosvirnova. Italy’s other athlete Lucia Peretti took home the bronze medal.
However, the multiple Olympic medallist was unlucky in the 500 metres, taking a tumble two laps from the finish line after taking the reins of the final. The event was subsequently won by the Netherlands’ De Vries ahead of Italy’s Martina Valcepina, who added a prestigious silver medal to her trophy case.
Italy also put in an extraordinary performance in the relay, with Fontana, Maffei, Valcepina and Peretti successfully securing a place in tomorrow’s Final A. Having secured a victory in the semi-finals after the penalty imposed on Russia - Italy finished second on the ice with a time of 4’12”838 - the Italians will face the Netherlands, Hungary and the Czech Republic in the final stage.
On the men’s side, good news came from the relay team, who regained their former shine when they came second in the semi-finals (6’53”381) behind Russia, securing a spot in tomorrow’s Final A, when Italy will go up against Hungary, the Netherlands and Russia. For Nicola Rodigari (C.S. Carabinieri), Yuri Confortola (C.S. Carabinieri), Tommaso Dotti and Andrea Cassinelli (V.G. Torino), this was a great performance after the difficulties they encountered early in the season. In the men’s individual event, it was Dotti who achieved the best result after placing third in the Final B in the 1500. However, there was nothing Andrea Cassinelli could do after going out in the 1500 semi-finals and the 500 quarter-finals.
At the end of the day, the head coach of the Italian national team, Kenan Gouadec, made the following comments: “We have had an almost perfect day, with the exception of Arianna Fontana’s upset just short of a double victory. So we came very close to achieving perfection and I believe that we couldn’t have wished for more for Italy over the past two days. The relays went very well, and I’m also happy with how the men raced: we’ve shown that Italy is strong, both on the men’s and the women’s sides.”
FISG president Andrea Gios, meanwhile, said the following: “We are extremely happy about today as we had three women up there in the top three spots: Arianna Fontana is the top champion, with an extraordinary intelligence that sets her apart in every situation, Valcepina came back as strong as ever after having a baby, and Peretti has also performed exceptionally. We have a wonderful team that fills us with hope and confidence as we look ahead. We must also thank the coaching staff, who have worked extremely well and who enable us to grow our great ambitions ahead of PyeongChang 2018.”
