OLYMPICS: Figure skating-Italy's team bronze lifts hopes of further home-ice success

Italy’s hopes for more home Olympic ice success were lifted on Sunday as the country clinched bronze in the figure skating team event at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.

Matteo Rizzo delivered his best free skate of the season, helping Italy maintain third place and keeping the team ahead of Canada and Georgia. Solid performances from Lara Naki Gutmann and the pair Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii also contributed to the podium finish.

As Rizzo completed his routine, the Italian team erupted in cheers, shouting “bronze, bronze,” while the crowd roared. Overwhelmed with emotion, Rizzo knelt on the ice with his forehead on the ground, hiding his tears. Fans alternated chants of “Matteo, Matteo” and “Italia, Italia” while awaiting his final score of 179.62.

“I knew exactly what I needed to do in terms of score to win the medal,” Rizzo said. “I decided not to limit my performance. I felt good, so I gave all I had.”

He added, “The team supported me in an incredible way, and the public was just immense.” Following his routine, he joyfully slid across the ice on his knees, letting out all his emotions.

Rizzo’s performance to the music of Interstellar was clean and intense. He approached the judges’ panel rinkside before drifting backward off the side barrier in the final moments of his routine.

This bronze marks Italy’s third Olympic figure skating medal, following previous bronzes by Barbara Fusar Poli and Maurizio Margaglio in ice dance at Salt Lake City 2002 and Carolina Kostner in women’s singles at Sochi 2014.

Team captain Sara Conti said the result boosts confidence for the upcoming individual events.

“We know our value after this medal. We’ll certainly step on the ice with a different mindset now,” she said.

Italian fans bring the arena to life

The atmosphere inside Milan’s Forum di Assago — an industrial-style arena with exposed pipes and seating for up to 15,800 spectators — was electric. Milan-born Niccolò Macii said the home crowd made all the difference.

“The crowd skated with us. They were happy for us, or sad, or cheering … like they were saying: ‘Keep it up, keep it up.’ We felt they were on the ice with us. A perfect performance wouldn’t have felt like that,” he said.

Despite concerns over ticket prices, the arena was almost full. Alice Galleano, an artistic roller skater from Savona, said she received her ticket as a birthday gift in November. Meanwhile, 61-year-old Nunzio Toffano, who draped himself in an Italian flag, bought his ticket last April.

“When Italy was awarded the Winter Olympics seven years ago, I immediately told people at work I’d take time off in February 2026. I bought the tickets as soon as possible, and here we are,” he said.

The ice surface, normally used by basketball team Olimpia Milano — owned by the heirs of late fashion designer Giorgio Armani — also hosts global music stars such as Rihanna and Coldplay.

“A medal you just hang on the wall, but the emotions stay with you. We will remember this competition for the rest of our lives,” Macii said. -Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Valentina Za; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Pritha Sarkar/Reuters