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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Beau Dure

Italian renaissance: does ‘home-ice’ give Winter Olympic hosts a competitive advantage?

Members of the Italian team celebrate after winning gold in the mixed short-track speedskating relay event on Tuesday.
Members of the Italian team celebrate after winning gold in the mixed short-track speedskating relay event on Tuesday. Photograph: Orange Pictures/Shutterstock

From Milan to Cortina and beyond, the star of the first Olympic weekend in Italy was … Italy.

The electric celebrations started Saturday in Bormio, close to the Swiss border, with a silver and bronze in the men’s downhill. They echoed a few hours later in Milan, where Francesca Lollobrigida set an Olympic record in women’s 3,000m speed skating for the host country’s first gold.

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