Italian · Paluzza, Italy · Born 31 January 1963Italian cross-country skier who achieved an unmatched feat at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, becoming the only skier in history, male or female, to win a medal in all five events at a single Winter Games.
Manuela Di Centa was born on 31 January 1963 in Paluzza, in the mountainous Carnia region of northern Italy, to a family of Nordic skiers, and made her senior national team debut at 17 in 1980. After a dispute with the Italian Skiing Federation president over the treatment of women athletes, she briefly left the national team before returning in 1987, and competed at the 1988 Calgary Olympics without medaling. Di Centa's career was hampered for years by an undiagnosed thyroid condition that sapped her endurance, only discovered and treated after a disappointing 1992 Albertville Olympics where she managed just a relay bronze. The treatment transformed her: at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, she achieved an unprecedented feat, medaling in every one of the five women's cross-country events - gold in the 15km classical and 30km freestyle, silver in the 15km freestyle and 10km pursuit, and bronze in the relay - a haul that remains the most medals ever won by a cross-country skier at a single Winter Olympics. Di Centa won her first of two overall World Cup titles that same year, repeating in 1996, and became the first Italian cross-country skier to receive the prestigious Holmenkollen Medal. She competed at a fifth and final Olympics at Nagano 1998, winning a further relay bronze before retiring with seven career Olympic medals. After retiring, she became the first Italian woman to summit Mount Everest in 2003, served as a full member of the International Olympic Committee from 1999 to 2010, and was elected to the Italian Parliament in 2006, representing her home region until 2013. A Swedish television investigation later reported that Di Centa's hemoglobin levels measured above the permitted competition limit before a 1997 World Cup event, an allegation that has remained part of her public record.
Becoming the only cross-country skier in history, male or female, to win a medal in all five events at a single Winter Olympics, at Lillehammer 1994
How They Played
Versatile all-round distance specialist equally strong in classical and freestyle technique across every distance from sprints to the 30km
Lasting Impact
Remembered as one of the greatest all-round cross-country skiers in history, whose Lillehammer sweep transformed the sport's profile in Italy and inspired a generation of Italian Nordic skiers
Career Honours
- 2x Olympic Gold Medalist (1994: 15km Classical, 30km Freestyle)
- 5 medals at a single Olympics (1994) - unmatched by any cross-country skier
- 2x Overall World Cup Champion (1994, 1996)
- First Italian woman to summit Mount Everest (2003)
Italian Athletes