Fabio Francolini

www.facebook.com/fabio.francolini86
twitter.com/FabioFrancolini

Club / Team	Aeronautica Militare: Italy
Name of coach	Maurizio Marchetto [national], ITA; Enrico Fabris [national], ITA
Reason for choosing this sport	He switched to speed skating because he had an ambition to compete at the Olympic Winter Games. "I took a lot of satisfaction from [inline] skating, but I realised that I wanted something more from my sporting career. I had to take a different road to get there."
When and where did you begin this sport?	He began inline skating at age five in Cantu, Italy. He took up speed skating in 2011 in Baselga di Pine, Italy.

Injuries	He broke his arm in 2001. (skatelog.com, 2004) He once cut his shin with his blade and had to stop training for three weeks. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2017)
Other sports	He has represented Italy in roller speed skating, winning four gold medals at the world championships between 2007 and 2012. (SportsDeskOnline, 29 Nov 2016)
Memorable sporting achievement	Becoming a four-time world champion in inline skating, and winning silver in the mass start at the 2015 World Single Distances Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2017)
Most influential person in career	Coach Maurizio Alessi. (Athlete, 09 Feb 2017)
Hero / Idol	Italian road cyclist Marco Pantani, Italian football player Alessandro Del Piero. (pyeongchang2018.coni.it, 12 Feb 2017; Athlete, 09 Feb 2017)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"The strongest doesn't always win." (Athlete, 09 Feb 2017)
Hobbies	Technology, shopping. (pyeongchang2018.coni.it, 12 Feb 2017)
Other information	ILLNESS In December 2016 he was diagnosed with celiac disease, an inflammation of the small intestine due to gluten intolerance, and colitis, an inflammation of the colon. (Facebook page, 17 Jun 2017)