Medals pile up for Italian women, but 'ice ceiling' persists in leadership

MILAN, Feb 22 : Italian sport is celebrating record‑breaking performances by its female athletes at the Winter Olympics, yet behind the medals is a far slower change in who wields influence in the nation's sporting future — still largely shaped by men's football.

While female athletes won seven of Italy's 10 gold medals at Milano Cortina, including one in the short track mixed team relay, women remain rare in the boardrooms, coaching staff and technical roles that determine policies and opportunities.

Some gaps reflect Italy's obsession with soccer, but experts say less visible factors also entrench the imbalance — from sports coverage dominated by male journalists to the limited scientific research on sportswomen's bodies.

"In Italy you have the main sports newspaper with 40 pages — 35 of them always talk about soccer, and the last five pages talk about every other sport," Arianna Fontana, the 35-year-old short track skater who this week became the most decorated Italian Olympian in history, told Reuters. 

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Despite attempts to widen opportunities for female sports reporters, the resignation of RAI's sports chief after a backlash over his opening ceremony commentary produced a familiar result: not one woman was floated as a possible replacement.

"Culturally in Italy some things need to change before we can talk about women's sports, women's rights in sport, and all these things," Fontana said.  

Manuela Di Centa knows what it takes to break barriers. In 1994, the cross-country skier won five medals at the Lillehammer Winter Olympics. More than a decade later, she became the first female vice president of CONI, Italy's Olympic committee.

As women account for 47 per cent of athletes at the Milano