Manuela Di Centa biography
Manuela Di Centa, (born Jan. 31, 1963, Paluzza, Italy), Italian Nordic skier who was the one athlete to win 5 Olympic medals in cross-country snowboarding at a single Winter Games (1994). A dominant power on the worldwide stage, she additionally gained 15 World Cup occasions and a couple of total titles (1994 and 1996).
A baby prodigy, Di Centa was a extremely regarded member of the nationwide group by the age of 17. Following the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now in Bosnia and Herzegovina), the outspoken and impartial Di Centa give up the game, publicly criticizing the Italian ski federation’s remedy of girls athletes and their alleged follow of blood doping (a transfusion of blood that enhances an athlete’s stamina and endurance) and different unlawful coaching strategies. After adjustments within the teaching employees, she rejoined the Italian nationwide group in 1987 and competed on the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, although she didn't medal.
After a disappointing efficiency on the 1992 Games in Albertville, France, the place she may solely handle a bronze within the 4 × 5-km relay, Di Centa found that she suffered from a thyroid situation that had weakened her bodily endurance. She underwent remedy and inside two years was dominating worldwide cross-country snowboarding. At the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, she captured victories in each the 15- and 30-km races. She additionally gained silver medals within the 5- and 10-km occasions and a bronze within the 4 × 5-km relay. Her 5 medals had been essentially the most gained by an athlete at Lillehammer. Di Centa gained a bronze medal as a member of the Italian 4 × 5-km relay group on the 1998 Games in Nagano, Japan, after which she retired from aggressive snowboarding. She later labored for Italian tv, and in 2003 she turned the primary Italian girl to climb Mount Everest.