With 10 Olympic medals, the Italian cross-country skier Stefania Belmondo is equal with Raisa Smetanina for the most Winter Olympic medals among female athletes. Belmondo first competed at the Winter Olympics in 1988. In 1992, she won three medals, including a gold medal in the 30 km. race. She failed to medal at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics, but won four medals at Nagano in 1998, and in 2002 won two medals, including her second gold in the 15 km. race, after which she retired. The 15 km. gold medal was particularly dramatic as Belmondo broke a pole with 4.5 km. remaining and skied in with only one pole. Belmondo won the World Cup for cross-country skiing in 1999, and finished 2nd in that competition three times (1991, 1992, 1997) and 3rd three times (1993, 1998, 2002). She also won the Sprint World Cup in 1997, and was a four-time World Champion. Nicknamed “The Tiny Tornado” for her relatively small size of 5-3 (160 cm.) and 100 lbs. (45 kg.), Belmondo was renowned for her huge training regimen, covering over 10,000 km. per year on skis.
Italy