Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida topped an Olympic podium for the second time Thursday, battling across the 5000m finish line in 6 minutes, 46.17 seconds — just one-tenth of a second ahead of 2nd-place finisher Merel Conjin. 

Her win marked Italy's first Olympic medal in the women's 5000m. It also gave Italy its first Olympic gold in the distance for either men or women.

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Lollobrigida won the world title in the distance in March 2025. It is her only gold medal in any distance on the world championship level.

A skater known for her aggressive style, Lollobrigida spent part of the 2025-26 World Cup season battling a viral infection and entered the Olympics as the 9th best women's long distance skater in the world. The 5000m was contested just once on the World Cup level this season, at World Cup No. 3 in Heerenveen, Netherlands. There, Lollobrigida crossed the finish line 7th of 12 skaters.

Five days earlier, on her 35th birthday, Lollobrigida smashed the Olympic 3000m record en route to Italy's first gold medal of the 2026 Games, becoming the first Italian woman to win Olympic speed skating gold and the oldest speed skater to win Olympic gold in the event. The last time an Italian man won speed skating gold was in 2006, when Italy last hosted the Olympics.

Earlier in the day, countrywoman Federica Brignone, who is also 35, won a gold medal of her own in the women's super-G. Short track skater Arianna Fontana could become the third 35-year-old Italian woman to win an Olympic event on the same day if she successfully defends her 500m gold Thursday afternoon. 

Conjin, 24, finished 3rd in the distance at the 2025 World Championships. The Dutch have now collected five 5000m medals across the last four Olympic races.

Norway's Ragne Wiklund rounded out the podium.

Wiklund earned her latest of two silver world championships medals in the distance in 2025 and won the race in Heerenveen. She entered the Olympics as the world's top-ranked long distance skater.

Czechia's Martina Sablikova, who pulled out of the women's 3000m just hours before the race due to illness, finished 11th in Thursday's race. The 38 year old won 10 world titles in the distance between 2007 and 2019 and skated to Olympic gold at the 2010 and 2014 Games.

After the race, she told the media she still wasn't feeling well ahead of the 5000m.

"It was so hard. I cried before the start ... I lied for four days in bed," she said. "I know a lot of people from Czechia and my fans are here, so I had to do what I could and come here."

The women's 5000m was the only speed skating event on the 2026 Olympic program without an American competitor.

Competition continues Friday, Feb. 13, with the men's 10,000m.

Skaters are scheduled to take the ice at 10 a.m. E.T.