Arianna Fontana won Italy's first gold medal of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang with victory in the 500 metres short track speed skating on Tuesday. The skater, Italy's flagbearer at the Games opening ceremony, beat the Netherlands' Yara Van Kerkhof in a photofinish.
South Korea's Minjeong Choi, who set an Olympic record, was disqualified but had already been beaten by Fontana.
It was Fontana's first Olympic gold after a silver and four bronzes in previous Games. "It has been a long journey, more beautiful than I had imagined it," said Fontana after doing a lap of honour in tears, draped in the Italian flag.
"It is a gold I had been hunting for years, a stupendous sensation to cross the line ahead of the Korean on her home ground.
"I want to thanks the CONI, the federation and my family, I think my father must have had a heart attack "I thank my husband Anthony and all those who supported me.
"I'm happy, because I beat the Korean, disqualification or not".
Premier Paolo Gentiloni said Fontana had been "great".
Italy's Federico Pellegrino took the silver medal in the men's cross country
sprint event at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang on Tuesday.
The Italian came from behind to pinch silver from Russian
Alexander Bolshunov by just two hundredths of a second in a race
won by Norway's Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo.
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