Manuela Di Centa

Manuela Di Centa OLY (born January 31, 1963) is a former Italian cross-country skier and Olympic athlete. She is the sister of former cross-country skier Giorgio Di Centa and cousin of former track and field athlete Venanzio Ortis.

Manuela Di Centa
Manuela Di Centa in 2008
Country Italy
Born (1963-01-31) 31 January 1963
Paluzza, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy
Height164 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Ski clubG.S. Forestale
World Cup career
Seasons1982, 1984, 1987–1998
Individual wins15
Team wins1
Indiv. podiums35
Team podiums9
Indiv. starts106
Team starts15
Overall titles2 – (1994, 1996)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Italy
Olympic Games
1994 Lillehammer 15 km freestyle
1994 Lillehammer 30 km classical
1994 Lillehammer 5 km classical
1994 Lillehammer 15 km pursuit
1992 Albertville 4 × 5 km relay
1994 Lillehammer 4 × 5 km relay
1998 Nagano 4 × 5 km relay
World Championships
1991 Val di Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay
1993 Falun 30 km freestyle
1993 Falun 4 × 5 km relay
1995 Thunder Bay 30 km freestyle
1991 Val di Fiemme 5 km classical
1991 Val di Fiemme 30 km freestyle
1995 Thunder Bay 5 km classical
Junior World Championships
1982 Murau5 km

Career

Di Centa, born in Paluzza, province of Udine, to a family of Nordic skiers, made her debut on the Italian national team in 1980 at the age of 17, skied with the G.S. Forestale. Two years later, she competed at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo finishing in eighth place. After a quarrel with the president of the Italian Skiing Federation, Di Centa left the national team, not returning until 1986.

At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, she finished sixth in the 20 km freestyle. She won her first medals in international competition at the 1991 World Championships in Val di Fiemme: a silver (4 × 5 km relay) and two bronzes (5 km, 30 km). An Olympic medal followed in 1992, a bronze in the 4 × 5 km relay. In 1993, at the Falun World Championships, she won two more silvers (30 km, 4 × 5 km relay). At the 1995 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, she won another silver (30 km) and a bronze (5 km).

Di Centa also became Italian national champion in fell running in 1985, 1989 and 1991.[1]

Di Centa seemed confined to the role of the eternal second, but this changed abruptly at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, where she medaled in all five cross-country events: two gold, two silver and one bronze medal. The same year she also won her first aggregate Cross-Country Skiing World Cup, a feat she repeated in 1996.

In 1996 she was the first Italian cross-country skier to receive the Holmenkollen Medal. Her last title was a bronze at the 1998 Winter Olympics in the 4 × 5 km relay.

After retiring, Di Centa worked for Italian television (RAI), and became a member of the Italian and International Olympic Committees.

Di Centa became the first Italian woman to climb Mount Everest (with supplementary oxygen) in 2003.[2]

Di Centa is the first Italian woman (and the 19th Italian) to compete at five Olympics, which she did from 1984 to 1998.

Her younger brother Giorgio is currently a member of the Italian national cross-country ski team and was the winner of two gold medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

At the 2018 Winter Olympics di Centa was inducted into the Olympians for Life project.[2]

2006 Winter Olympics

As a member of the International Olympic Committee and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) and as one of Italy's most accomplished Winter Olympic athletes, Di Centa played a prominent public role in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. She was one of the eight flag bearers during the Opening Ceremonies. At the Closing Ceremonies, she participated in the awarding of medals to the winners of the men's 50 km cross-country race. Coincidentally, the gold medal winner was her younger brother Giorgio.

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[3]

Olympic Games
  • 7 medals – (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km   10 km  15 km  Pursuit   20 km  30 km  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
1984212428N/AN/A26N/A9
1988251820N/AN/A6N/A—
19922912N/A—10N/A6Bronze
199431SilverN/AGoldSilverN/AGoldBronze
19983521N/A—23N/A—Bronze

World Championships
  • 7 medals – (4 silver, 3 bronze)
 Year   Age   5 km  10 km
 classical 		  10 km
 freestyle 		  15 km  Pursuit  20 km  30 km  4 × 5 km 
 relay 
198218817N/AN/AN/A—N/A—
198925N/A87—N/AN/A56
199127BronzeN/A4—N/AN/ABronzeSilver
19932910N/AN/A54N/ASilverSilver
199531BronzeN/AN/A—4N/ASilver4
19973334N/AN/A12DNFN/A—4

Season standings
 Season   Age  Overall Long Distance Sprint
19821822N/AN/A
19842049N/AN/A
19872349N/AN/A
19882427N/AN/A
1989254N/AN/A
1990265N/AN/A
1991275N/AN/A
1992289N/AN/A
1993295N/AN/A
199430N/AN/A
19953120N/AN/A
199632N/AN/A
1997334127—
199834202021

Individual podiums
  • 15 victories
  • 35 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 1988–89 13 January 1989 Klingenthal, East Germany10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
211 March 1989 Falun, Sweden15 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
31989–9018 February 1990 Pontresina, Switzerland15 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
47 March 1990 Sollefteå, Sweden30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
510 March 1990 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
6 1990–91 12 February 1991 Val di Fiemme, Italy5 km Individual CWorld Championships3rd
716 February 1991 Val di Fiemme, Italy30 km Individual FWorld Championships3rd
810 March 1991 Örnsköldsvik, Sweden15 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
916 March 1991 Oslo, Norway5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
10 1992–93 27 February 1993 Falun, Sweden30 km Individual FWorld Championships2nd
116 March 1993 Lahti, Finland5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
129 March 1993 Lillehammer, Norway5 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
1310 March 1993 Lillehammer, Norway10 km Pursuit FWorld Cup2nd
1410 March 1993 Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
15 1993–94 18 December 1993 Davos, Switzerland10 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
1621 December 1993 Toblach, Italy15 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
1715 January 1994 Oslo, Norway15 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
1813 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway15 km Individual FOlympic Games1st
1915 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway5 km Individual COlympic Games2nd
2017 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway10 km Pursuit FOlympic Games2nd
2124 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway30 km Individual CFOlympic Games1st
226 March 1994 Lahti, Finland30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
2312 March 1994 Falun, Sweden10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
2420 March 1994 Thunder Bay, Canada10 km Pursuit FWorld Cup1st
25 1994–95 12 March 1995 Thunder Bay, Canada5 km Individual CWorld Championships3rd
2618 March 1995 Thunder Bay, Canada30 km Individual FWorld Championships2nd
27 1995–96 9 December 1995 Davos, Switzerland5 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
289 January 1996 Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
2918 March 1995 Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
302 February 1996 Seefeld, Austria5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
3111 February 1996 Kavgolovo, Russia10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
3224 February 1996 Trondheim, Norway5 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
3325 February 1996 Trondheim, Norway10 km Pursuit FWorld Cup1st
342 March 1996 Lahti, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
359 March 1996 Falun, Sweden15 km Individual FWorld Cup1st

Team podiums
  • 1 victory – (1 TS)
  • 9 podiums – (8 RL, 1 TS)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammate(s)
1 1990–91 15 February 1991 Val di Fiemme, Italy4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Championships[1]2ndVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
2 1991–92 18 February 1992 Albertville, France4 × 5 km Relay C/FOlympic Games[1]3rdVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
3 1992–93 26 February 1993 Falun, Sweden4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Championships[1]2ndVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
4 1993–94 22 February 1994 Lillehammer, Norway4 × 5 km Relay C/FOlympic Games[1]3rdVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
5 1995–96 17 December 1995 Santa Caterina, Italy4 × 5 km Relay CWorld Cup2ndPaluselli / Belmondo / Paruzzi
614 January 1996 Nové Město, Czech Republic4 × 5 km Relay CWorld Cup3rdPaluselli / Belmondo / Paruzzi
73 February 1996 Seefeld, Austria6 × 1.5 km Team Sprint FWorld Cup1stBelmondo
810 March 1996 Falun, Sweden4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rdGiacomuzzi / Dal Sasso / Belmondo
9 1997–98 14 December 1997 Val di Fiemme, Italy4 × 5 km Relay FWorld Cup2ndParuzzi / Valbusa / Belmondo

Note: 1 Until the 1999 World Championships and the 1994 Olympics, World Championship and Olympic races were included in the World Cup scoring system.

National titles

Politics

Manuela Di Centa, who has been vice-president of the National Council of the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) until 2006, is also involved in politics and was a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Forza Italia, between 2006 and 2013. She became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1999 and remained there until 2010.[4]

Doping allegations

The Swedish investigative television program Uppdrag granskning claimed that Di Centa had an exceptionally high hemoglobin level prior to a World Cup in Lahti in 1997. Di Centa's hemoglobin value was measured in an official pre-competition test as high as 17.3 g/dL. The allowed limit to start in official FIS competition is 16.5 g/dL.

See also

References
  1. "Italian Championships". GBR Athletics. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  2. https://olympians.org/news/1064/woa-honours-olympians-for-life-inductees/
  3. "DI CENTA Manuela". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  4. "Ms Manuela DI CENTA". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
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