She is strong and feared, she knows it and doesn't hide it. The world of the short track is her kingdom, where she has broken the dominance consolidated by others over the years. Arianna is no longer the shy talented girl who was capable of achieving the record in Turin 2006 by being the youngest medalist of the Winter Games at 15 years and 10 months, and by winning bronze in Vancouver 2010. Now, she's just Arianna Fontana, a star in the firmament of the discipline worldwide. Today she made her debut in Sochi 2014, winning the quarter-finals in the 500 metres (final stages Thursday) and pulling herself through the relay to the final on 18 February.

The rest is brought to life by her precise and sincere words. "This is my third Olympic experience, but the games always give you a special feeling. I feel good, I like the ice, and compared to Vancouver, I am more aware of my ability. I had to go hard to gain a good position in view of the next stages of the 500. As always, I will give my all and it would be great to celebrate something big after the medals of Innerhofer and Zoeggeler, but I won't stress about it.The relay? We were calm, when I pushed Lucy we were in front, it was the Dutch girl who beat them. We'll be going for it, in the World Cup we got three third places."