Francesca Lollobrigida

Famous relatives

Her sister Giulia has represented Italy in roller speed skating and speed skating. Her great-aunt is the actress Gina Lollobrigida, who was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Her father Maurizio competed in speed skating at national level in Italy. Her partner Matteo Angeletti has represented Italy in roller speed skating and won gold in the 5000m relay at the 2015 European Championships in Worgl, Austria. (ercolefragasso.it, 23 Jun 2022; SportsDeskOnline, 12 Jan 2021; oasport.it, 27 Oct 2016; outdoorblog.it, 06 Feb 2014; altoadige.gelocal.it, 15 Jan 2013)

When and where did you begin this sport?

She first tried skating at 14 months old. She took up speed skating in 2008 in Baselga di Pine, Italy.

Nicknames

Lollo (Athlete, 09 Dec 2019; livegreen.bio, 14 Jun 2021)

www.facebook.com/Francesca-Lollobrigida-399772163436438

Other sports

She has competed in roller speed skating internationally, and won 13 gold medals at the world championships between 2012 and 2019. (SportsDeskOnline, 15 Jan 2021)

Club / Team

CS Aeronautica Militare: Italy

Injuries	She underwent three operations on her shoulder between 2011 and 2012 after crashing while training at the 2011 World Inline Championships in Yeosu, Republic of Korea. (isu.org, 07 Jan 2019; Athlete, 04 Dec 2015) She missed about three years of competition between 2008 and 2011 because of glandular fever. (isu.org, 07 Jan 2019)
Memorable sporting achievement	Her performances during the 2021/22 season, in which she won two medals at the Olympic Winter Games and secured multiple podium finishes at World Cup events. (vanityfair.it, 03 Apr 2022)

Reason for choosing this sport

"I used to go out roller speed skating behind cars on the streets in Rome, Italy, with my father, at specific times with little traffic. After the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, my father encouraged me to take up speed skating."

Most influential person in career	Her father. (Athlete, 09 Dec 2019)
Hero / Idol	US speed skater Chad Hedrick. (Athlete, 04 Dec 2015)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Go hard, never give up." (Athlete, 09 Nov 2017)

Name of coach

Maurizio Marchetto [national], ITA; Matteo Anesi [national], ITA

Hobbies	Cycling. (vanityfair.it, 03 Apr 2022)
Awards and honours	She was flag bearer for Italy at the 2017 World Roller Games in Nanjing, People's Republic of China. (fisr.it, 18 Jul 2017)
Milestones	She became the first female speed skater representing Italy to win a medal at the European allround championships by winning a bronze medal in the small combination at the 2019 edition of the tournament in Collalbo, Italy. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 Dec 2019; sportfair.it, 12 Jan 2019)
Other information	BREAK AND RETURN She took a break from the sport and missed the entire 2022/23 season in order to start a family. She gave birth to her son Tomasso in May 2023 and returned to competition in September 2023 at an event in Inzell, Germany. "After the [2022] Beijing Olympics, I had two options in front of me: becoming a mother or participating in the Olympics [2026 Milan-Cortina] at home. I didn't want to give up either of them." (Instagram profile, 07 Jan 2023; speedskatingresults.com, 01 Oct 2023; fisg.it, 29 Sep 2023) OTHER ROLES She has served as an athlete representative of the Italian Roller Sports Federation [FISR]. (worldskate.org, 16 Nov 2020) FURTHER EDUCATION She has studied for a degree in motor sciences at San Raffaele University of Rome in Italy. (Instagram profile, 02 Nov 2022; Facebook profile, 28 Oct 2021; livegreen.bio, 14 Jun 2021)
Ambitions	To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (luce.lanazione.it, 08 Jan 2024)