Speedskater Francesca Lollobrigida has given host nation Italy its first gold medal of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, winning the women’s 3,000 metres in Olympic-record time on Saturday.
Racing in Milan on her 35th birthday, Lollobrigida finished in 3 minutes 54.28 seconds, more than two seconds ahead of Norway’s Ragne Wiklund in second place. Canada’s Valerie Maltais took the bronze.
The home crowd rose to its feet as Lollobrigida completed her final laps, roaring her on as she pulled clear of the field. When her time appeared on the scoreboard as a new Olympic record, she celebrated on the ice with the Italian flag.
Lollobrigida, from the hill town of Frascati just outside Rome, is competing at her fourth Olympics. She won two medals at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games – silver in the 3,000 metres and bronze in the mass start – but had never taken gold until now. She is also the great-niece of the late Gina Lollobrigida, one of Italy’s best-known film stars of the 1950s and 1960s.
The result marks an early highlight for Italy at its home Games and confirms Lollobrigida as one of the leading names in long-distance speed skating, finally adding an Olympic title to a career already rich in major medals.
The Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are being held across Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo and other venues in northern Italy. The Games bring together athletes from around the world to compete in ice and snow sports including skiing, skating, ice hockey, curling and sliding events, and mark Italy’s return as Winter Games host after Cortina 1956 and Turin 2006.
As the strikes on Tehran began on Saturday (28 February), Touraj Shiralilou sent us this report from the Iranian capital....
The United States has begun "major combat operations" in Iran, President Donald Trump has confirmed, as Israel said it had launched a "pre-emptive" mi...
Cuba has released extensive details of a deadly midweek shootout at sea, showing rifles, pistols and nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition that it says w...
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday (27 February) they were ready to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in several Afghan cities, ...
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacu...
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Speaking during a closed-door deposition in New York on Thursday (February), former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she did not “recall” ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had “no knowledge of his crimes”.
Pakistan’s declaration of an “open war” with Afghanistan must be understood in the context of months of escalating violence, regional analysts have said, describing the latest developments as a significant shift in the nature of the conflict.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue, offering Tehran’s assistance to facilitate understanding between its eastern neighbours.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
The United States has begun "major combat operations" in Iran, President Donald Trump has confirmed, as Israel said it had launched a "pre-emptive" missile strike against Iranian targets.
The situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint following a deadly incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island, the Kremlin said on Thursday (26 February).
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in Geneva and may hold talks with U.S. officials, according to the RIA news agency.
Ankara has rejected media reports claiming it plans to deploy military forces into Iranian territory in the event of a U.S. attack on the Islamic republic.
Cuba has released extensive details of a deadly midweek shootout at sea, showing rifles, pistols and nearly 13,000 rounds of ammunition that it says were carried by a group of exiles who attempted to enter the island by speedboat.
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers said on Friday (27 February) they were ready to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in several Afghan cities, including Kabul and Kandahar, and Islamabad declared the neighbours were now in "open war".
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Two people were killed and around 40 injured when a tram derailed in central Milan on Friday (27 February), a spokesperson for the local fire service said.
Colombia’s commerce minister, Diana Marcela Morales, has said she will propose raising tariffs on certain Ecuadorian goods from 30% to 50%, as a trade dispute between the neighbouring countries intensifies.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment