Portrait of Speed Skater Francesca Lollobrigida

Biography on skates

Francesca is the great-grand-daughter of actress Gina Lollobrigida. Her father, Maurizio, is a former skating world champion… That’s for a family name to honor! The skater has been flying the Squadra Azzurra’s flag both on ice and wheels.

In 2007, Francesca won the marathon world title. She got the prestigious prize from the Italian Olympic Committee in Rome.

In 2012, we elected her best skater of the year after the speed skating Worlds in San Benedetto, Italy. The Italian won two world titles, three vice-champion titles and two bronze medals.

With no less than 6 gold medals out of the 14 Italian medals at the 2015 European Championship, Francesca Lollobrigida left her mark on the European speed skating world.

In 2016, she joins the Cadomotus team, on ice and wheels…

Hello Francesca, how did you start skating?

I started thanks to my father. He’s a skater too and he still holds the 50k world record. He let me try lots of different sports, like swimming, gymnastics and dancing, but I chose skating!

Until I reached the Junior B category, I had never trained on track or road. In the summer, I used to go and skate on a tennis court because my parents worked in a holiday village where there were free skating lessons. When they’d finish their day, I’d always go for a 20-min skating session after midnight.

What means did you have at your disposal?

I started skating on track in Rome when I entered the Junior category. As you know, Rome is a big city, and we only have one track! I’d spend over one hour and a half in the traffic jam to go practice. We don’t have any road circuit. Sometimes I’d skate behind a car to work on my overspeed… but it’s very dangerous in Rome.
In the summer, I usually go skating in San-Benedetto-del-Tronto, where we have a holiday house. There, I can train on track, on road, and do cycling in the surrounding hills and on the place. I love the place!

How did you discover ice skating?

After the 2006 Olympics of Turin, I started ice skating in Baselga, but it was 700 km away from Rome and I was still in school… My father would drive me there after school for the weekend (it was a 6-hour drive) and we’d come back on Sundays, or I would sleep in the train on Friday nights and be back on Sundays to be at school on Mondays. It wasn’t easy.

Tell us about your performances…

I won my first world title in the junior category, in Cali 2007, for the marathon, and a few silver and bronze medals. It was my first Worlds. The following year in Dijon (Spain), I was ill and I didn’t know it. I went back home and I spent three years fighting against illnesses. Nobody knew about it. But in 2011, I did my comeback for my first senior Worlds in Yeosu, Korea. I took the 5th place at the elimination race, I had an accident and injured my shoulder. I had to have three surgeries in September, November and April. I was very motivated to come back.

In 2012, at the Worlds in Italy, I won two titles, three silver medals, and one bronze medal.
The next year in Oostende, I got 4 world titles, my best feat so far!

I wasn’t meant to take part in the 2014 edition in Rosario, Argentina, because of problems with the Italian federation of Ice Skating. To be honest, I hadn’t even put on my inline skates before going to Argentina. I feel pretty lucky to have won two silver medals and one bronze medal.

Last year, at the Euro, I won 8 gold medals, and here again, it’s my best feat!

We’ll soon see how this season goes, but I’m so glad to skate for Cadomotus and very determined to go super fast!

Diederik Hol (Cadomotus)

Cadomotus is proud to support this team. Those changes are good opportunities at great victories. Lollo is an unparalleled finisher. With a real team around her, she should achieve excellent results in Europe. Her team mates are very strong: Giulia was born on skates, the two Dutch, Liza and Sharon, are good at marathons. The harder the better. Same thing for Margaux Vigil. Our team is a striking team! No need to wait for the final sprint. The girls are all friends and have a lot of fun skating together. They are dedicated and trust one another. They know how to make decisions according to the circumstances of races. That’s the winning spirit!

Summary of Francesca Lollobrigida’s ice skating career (long track)

After Enrico Fabris’ retirement, Francesca showed that Italy could be formidable on ice.

While she’s still in school, she starts ice skating during the 2008 World Cup, under the guidance of Maurizio Marchetto, who is the coach of Team Russia today.

She undergoes three shoulder surgeries, slowing down her preparation. She uses the only Italian long track ice rink open in the wintertime, in Baselga di Pine, to improve her technique. She decides to go to the Netherlands to train. Like Bart Swings and other athletes, she makes the most of her summer season on inline skates to perfect her winter preparation on ice. Indeed, ice skaters spend almost 8 months per year without competitions, from March to November! By the way, she fights to coordinate the athletes’ preparation with both Italian federations.

In November 2012, she wins her first ice marathon in the Netherlands. She is the first Italian to win on Dutch lands. She finds optimal conditions in Holland to keep up with her olympic preparation.

Her job in the Italian air force and her joining a sports group in July 2013 allow her to benefit from better training conditions. Thanks to her results, she gets local sponsors who offer her some independence and the means to travel to competitions.

At 23, she breaks the Italians records of the 3000 m and the 5000 m.

Then she takes part in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sotchi, Russia. She competes for the 3000 m and gets the 23rd place. One month later, she finishes first of the mass start at the long track world cup in Heerenveen, a race format that usually turns out quite well for inline skaters!
The last Italian medal goes back to 2007, when Chiara Simionato won the 1000 m race.

Now she’s preparing for the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongshang. Her ultimate goal? The olympic medal. Maybe her sister will be going on the trip too…

Technical facts

Surname: Lollobrigida
Name: Francesca
Born: Feb. 7th, 1991 in Frascati, Italy
Lives: in Rome, Italy
Height: 1.69 m
Weight: 62 kg
Marital status: Single
Work: Air force

Personal records on ice

• 40”00 on 500 m in Calgary — March 7th, 2015
• 1’19”52 on 1000 m in Inzell — October 3rd, 2015
• 1’59”59 on 1500 m in Calgary — March 8th, 2015
• 4’05”35 on 3000 m in Salt Lake City — November 15th, 2013
• 7’09”37 in Salt Lake City — November 20th, 2015

Useful links

Check out her complete title list on ice