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
Seasons14 – (1982, 1984, 1987–1998)
Starts106
Podiums35
Wins15
Overall titles2 – (1994, 1996)
Discipline titles0
Medal record
Women's cross-country skiing
Representing  Italy
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place1994 Lillehammer15 km freestyle
Gold medal – first place1994 Lillehammer30 km classical
Silver medal – second place1994 Lillehammer5 km classical
Silver medal – second place1994 Lillehammer5 km + 10 km
combined pursuit
Bronze medal – third place1992 Albertville4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal – third place1994 Lillehammer4 × 5 km relay
Bronze medal – third place1998 Nagano4 × 5 km relay
World Championships
Silver medal – second place1991 Val di Fiemme 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place1993 Falun30 km freestyle
Silver medal – second place1993 Falun 4 × 5 km relay
Silver medal – second place1995 Thunder Bay30 km freestyle
Bronze medal – third place1991 Val di Fiemme5 km classical
Bronze medal – third place1991 Val di Fiemme30 km freestyle
Bronze medal – third place1995 Thunder Bay5 km classical
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place1982 Murau5 km

Manuela Di Centa, OLY[1] (born 31 January 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.

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.[2]

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.[1]

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.[1]

Her niece, Martina, competed for Italy at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Cross-country skiing.

Di Centa is a vegan.[3]

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).[4]

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 
1984212428——26—9
1988251820——6——
19922912——10—6Bronze
199431Silver—GoldSilver—GoldBronze
19983521——23——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 
198218817——————
198925—87———56
199127Bronze—4———BronzeSilver
19932910——54—SilverSilver
199531Bronze———4—Silver4
19973334——12DNF——4

World Cup

Season standings

 Season   Age  Overall Long Distance Sprint
19821822——
19842049——
19872349——
19882427——
1989254——
1990265——
1991275——
1992289——
1993295——
1994301st place, gold medalist(s)——
19953120——
1996321st place, gold medalist(s)——
1997334127—
199834202021

Individual podiums

  • 15 victories
  • 35 podiums
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1 1988–89 13 January 1989East Germany Klingenthal, East Germany10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
211 March 1989Sweden Falun, Sweden15 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
31989–9018 February 1990Switzerland Pontresina, Switzerland15 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
47 March 1990Sweden Sollefteå, Sweden30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
510 March 1990Sweden Örnsköldsvik, Sweden10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
6 1990–91 12 February 1991Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy5 km Individual CWorld Championships[1]3rd
716 February 199130 km Individual FWorld Championships[1]3rd
810 March 1991Sweden Örnsköldsvik, Sweden15 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
916 March 1991Norway Oslo, Norway5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
10 1992–93 27 February 1993Sweden Falun, Sweden30 km Individual FWorld Championships[1]2nd
116 March 1993Finland Lahti, Finland5 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
129 March 1993Norway Lillehammer, Norway5 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
1310 March 199310 km Pursuit FWorld Cup2nd
1410 March 1993Slovakia Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia10 km Individual CWorld Cup3rd
15 1993–94 18 December 1993Switzerland Davos, Switzerland10 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
1621 December 1993Italy Toblach, Italy15 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
1715 January 1994Norway Oslo, Norway15 km Individual FWorld Cup2nd
1813 February 1994Norway Lillehammer, Norway15 km Individual FOlympic Games[1]1st
1915 February 19945 km Individual COlympic Games[1]2nd
2017 February 199410 km Pursuit FOlympic Games[1]2nd
2124 February 199430 km Individual CFOlympic Games[1]1st
226 March 1994Finland Lahti, Finland30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
2312 March 1994Sweden Falun, Sweden10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
2420 March 1994Canada Thunder Bay, Canada10 km Pursuit FWorld Cup1st
25 1994–95 12 March 1995Canada Thunder Bay, Canada5 km Individual CWorld Championships[1]3rd
2618 March 199530 km Individual FWorld Championships[1]2nd
27 1995–96 9 December 1995Switzerland Davos, Switzerland5 km Individual FWorld Cup3rd
289 January 1996Slovakia Štrbské Pleso, Slovakia30 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
2918 March 1995Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic10 km Individual CWorld Cup2nd
302 February 1996Austria Seefeld, Austria5 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
3111 February 1996Russia Kavgolovo, Russia10 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
3224 February 1996Norway Trondheim, Norway5 km Individual CWorld Cup1st
3325 February 199610 km Pursuit FWorld Cup1st
342 March 1996Finland Lahti, Finland10 km Individual FWorld Cup1st
359 March 1996Sweden 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 1991Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Championships[1]2ndVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
2 1991–92 18 February 1992France Albertville, France4 × 5 km Relay C/FOlympic Games[1]3rdVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
3 1992–93 26 February 1993Sweden Falun, Sweden4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Championships[1]2ndVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
4 1993–94 22 February 1994Norway Lillehammer, Norway4 × 5 km Relay C/FOlympic Games[1]3rdVanzetta / Paruzzi / Belmondo
5 1995–96 17 December 1995Italy Santa Caterina, Italy4 × 5 km Relay CWorld Cup2ndPaluselli / Belmondo / Paruzzi
614 January 1996Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic4 × 5 km Relay CWorld Cup3rdPaluselli / Belmondo / Paruzzi
73 February 1996Austria Seefeld, Austria6 × 1.5 km Team Sprint FWorld Cup1stBelmondo
810 March 1996Sweden Falun, Sweden4 × 5 km Relay C/FWorld Cup3rdGiacomuzzi / Dal Sasso / Belmondo
9 1997–98 14 December 1997Italy 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.[5]

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. 1 2 3 "WOA honours Olympians for Life inductees".
  2. ↑ "Italian Championships". GBR Athletics. Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "Manuela Di Centa: Sport e dieta vegan, connubio azzeccato". terranuova.it. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  4. ↑ "DI CENTA Manuela". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  5. ↑ "Ms Manuela DI CENTA". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
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