Arianna Fontana falls in the short track 1000 meters two curves from the finish line at the Beijing Olympics – Corriere.it

Disappointment for the blue who won a gold in the 500 meters and a silver in the mixed relay

The dream of another gold by Arianna Fontana. In the final of the 1,000 meters of fast skating she fell, just as she launched the sprint with the Dutch Schulting, she was knocked down in a collision with the American Santos (only in name given what looked like a door). The judges instead penalized the blue. Arianna Fontana later said: Honestly, it seemed to me that I was ahead when we touched each other and therefore that I had not committed any irregularities. However, the evening ended like this and I have no regrets.

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In the quarter-finals the Dutch Suzanne Schulting he had made the world record. The Italian champion had passed the round without difficulty, starting in the lead and finishing first. In the semifinal, however, Fontana had to fight to finish second and qualify. And in the final she shocks him. a race that leaves the lungs in apnea that of the 1,000. so fast, at an average of 50 km per hour, that the athletes take less time to complete it than it takes us to read the honor roll of Arianna Fontana’s successes, even if only stopping at those obtained in five Olympics. The girl from Sondrio started in Turin in 2006 with a bronze in the relay when she was missing one day at 16, she is the youngest Italian athlete to get on an Olympic podium. She then she darted away in front of all the others: in Vancouver 2010 she bronze in the 500; she still improves in Sochi 2014 with silver in 500, bronze in 1500 and then in the relay; masterpiece in Pyeongchang 2108 with gold in 500, silver in relay and bronze in 1000.

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