# Martina Valcepina
**Martina Valcepina** (born 1992 in Sondalo, Sondrio) is an Italian short track speed skater who competes for the Fiamme Gialle sports group and has won three Olympic medals, all in relays: bronze at Sochi 2014, silver at PyeongChang 2018, and silver at Beijing 2022.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [2](https://www.coni.it/it/italia-team/olimpiadi/scheda_atleta/medagliato/1777%3A.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1992, Sondalo (Sondrio), Italy; height 168 cm[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) |
| Club / team | Bormio Ghiaccio; G.S. Fiamme Gialle (police athlete)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) |
| Olympic medals | Bronze, 3000 m relay, Sochi 2014; silver, 3000 m relay, PyeongChang 2018; silver, mixed 2000 m relay, Beijing 2022[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) |
| Best individual Olympic result | 9th in the 500 m at PyeongChang 2018[3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) |
| European titles | 500 m, Heerenveen 2011; 3000 m relay, Torino 2017; 500 m and 1500 m, Dresden 2018[4](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/martina-valcepina/) |
| Other medals | World Championships bronze (3000 m relay, Dordrecht 2021); 14 European medals including 4 gold[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [5](https://www.eis-team.it/portfolio/martina-valcepina-management/) |
| Olympic Games | Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022; flagbearer at the Milano Cortina 2026 opening ceremony[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) |
## Early life and start in skating
Valcepina grew up in the Valtellina valley in Lombardy and took up short track at age six in Bormio, where a local skating school helped her develop; she also tried swimming and athletics before choosing short track.[3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) She came to the sport through her older sister Alessia, and trained with the Valtellinese club ASD Bormio Ghiaccio.[3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) • [5](https://www.eis-team.it/portfolio/martina-valcepina-management/) She entered the Italian national team setup in 2008 and has been on the senior international circuit since that year.[5](https://www.eis-team.it/portfolio/martina-valcepina-management/) • [3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/)
Her younger sister Arianna Valcepina, born 1994, also became a national-level short track skater, and the two have raced together on Italian relay teams, including the Beijing 2022 mixed relay squad.[6](https://www.tuttosport.com/news/altri-sport/pattinaggio/2023/01/19-102416166/pattinaggio_chi_sono_martina_e_arianna_valcepina_eta_carriera_e_vita_privata)
## Olympic career
**Vancouver 2010.** At age 17 years and 258 days, Valcepina was the youngest Italian athlete from any sport at the 2010 Winter Games. She placed 31st in the 500 m and 6th with Italy in the women's relay.[3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) • [1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787)
**Sochi 2014.** She won her first [Olympic medal](https://www.edgepedia.org/olympic-medal), a bronze in the 3000 m women's relay, and placed 20th in the 500 m, 23rd in the 1000 m, and 23rd in the 1500 m.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [2](https://www.coni.it/it/italia-team/olimpiadi/scheda_atleta/medagliato/1777%3A.html) She discovered during the Games that she was pregnant, and stepped away from competition afterward.[3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/)
**PyeongChang 2018.** After returning to full-time training, she won silver in the 3000 m relay and recorded her best individual Olympic result, 9th in the 500 m; she was 12th in the 1500 m.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/)
**Beijing 2022.** She won a second silver, in the new mixed team 2000 m relay, alongside her sister Arianna, Andrea Cassinelli, and [Pietro Sighel](https://www.edgepedia.org/pietro-sighel); Italy also placed 5th in the women's relay and she was 20th in the 500 m.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [7](https://www.gdf.gov.it/it/fiamme-gialle/notizie-ed-eventi/notizie-fiamme-gialle/anno-2022/febbraio/pechino-2022-litalia-e-dargento-nella-staffetta-mista-dello-short-track-medaglie-per-le-fiamme-gialle-martina-e-arianna-valcepina-andrea-cassinelli-e-pietro-sighel)
At the Milano Cortina 2026 Games she served as an Olympic flagbearer at the opening ceremony.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787)
## European and world competition
Valcepina's individual strength is the 500 m sprint. She won her first senior European title in that distance at Heerenveen in 2011, took relay gold at Torino 2017, and at Dresden 2018 won both the 500 m and the 1500 m.[4](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/martina-valcepina/) Her European medal record across 2011 to 2021 includes golds, silvers, and bronzes in individual distances, the allround classification, and relays, totaling 14 medals with 4 gold according to her management profile.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [5](https://www.eis-team.it/portfolio/martina-valcepina-management/)
At world level she won a bronze medal in the 3000 m relay at the 2021 World Championships in Dordrecht, and earlier took five medals (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze) at the World Junior Championships.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787) • [6](https://www.tuttosport.com/news/altri-sport/pattinaggio/2023/01/19-102416166/pattinaggio_chi_sono_martina_e_arianna_valcepina_eta_carriera_e_vita_privata) She has also won Italian absolute national titles, including in 2011, 2013, 2019, and 2022.[8](https://www.fisg.it/player/?t=31865)
## Motherhood and comeback
Valcepina took two years away from the sport between 2014 and 2016 to start a family, and her twin daughters were born in 2014. She has said that returning to full-time training depended on her family's help, and that motherhood reduced the anxieties and insecurities she had felt earlier in her career.[3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) She returned to win European titles in 2017 and 2018 and Olympic silver in 2018 and 2022.[4](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/martina-valcepina/)
In December 2023 she fractured her tibia and fibula during a training session, which kept her out for the rest of the season; she subsequently returned to competition, racing World Cup events in the 2023–24 season and European championships in 2026.[5](https://www.eis-team.it/portfolio/martina-valcepina-management/) • [8](https://www.fisg.it/player/?t=31865)
## Personal details
Her hometown is Cepina, her profession is police athlete with the Fiamme Gialle of the [Guardia di Finanza](https://www.edgepedia.org/guardia-di-finanza), and her hobbies are music, reading, and hiking; she speaks Italian and English.[3](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/) Her personal bests include 42.805 seconds over 500 m, 1:30.455 over 1000 m, and 2:24.171 over 1500 m.[8](https://www.fisg.it/player/?t=31865)
## References
1. [Olympedia – Martina Valcepina](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/119787)
2. [CONI Italia Team – Martina Valcepina](https://www.coni.it/it/italia-team/olimpiadi/scheda_atleta/medagliato/1777%3A.html)
3. [International Skating Union – Martina Valcepina profile](https://www.isu-skating.com/en/short-track/skaters/martina-valcepina/)
4. [Treccani Enciclopedia – Valcepina, Martina](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/martina-valcepina/)
5. [EIS Team – Martina Valcepina](https://www.eis-team.it/portfolio/martina-valcepina-management/)
6. [Tuttosport – Chi sono Martina e Arianna Valcepina](https://www.tuttosport.com/news/altri-sport/pattinaggio/2023/01/19-102416166/pattinaggio_chi_sono_martina_e_arianna_valcepina_eta_carriera_e_vita_privata)
7. [Fiamme Gialle / Guardia di Finanza – Pechino 2022 argento staffetta mista](https://www.gdf.gov.it/it/fiamme-gialle/notizie-ed-eventi/notizie-fiamme-gialle/anno-2022/febbraio/pechino-2022-litalia-e-dargento-nella-staffetta-mista-dello-short-track-medaglie-per-le-fiamme-gialle-martina-e-arianna-valcepina-andrea-cassinelli-e-pietro-sighel)
8. [FISG – Martina Valcepina athlete page](https://www.fisg.it/player/?t=31865)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Winter and ice sports › Ice skating sports › Short track speed skating › Short track skaters › Italian short track skaters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license