By Sara Rossi
Feb 14 – Parading once again through the streets of Northern Italy’s Cortina d’Ampezzo was “a unique emotion” for Manuela Angeli.
Born in the Alpine resort town in 1939, the 86-year-old lit the Olympic cauldron in her hometown last month — exactly 70 years after competing in the 1956 Winter Games as a 16-year-old figure skater.
Speaking with Reuters seven decades after her Olympic debut, she reflected on how the sport and Cortina have changed.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How did your passion for skating begin?
It began when I used to watch girls skating on ice through the windows of my school. The ice arena in Cortina did not exist back then, so I started skating on natural ice and then I took part in a competition. At that time, female skaters were divided into three categories. I started in the third category, but was immediately moved up to the second, and then up again. From then on, I started training in the summer too — first in Chamonix , where I spent two summers. The rink there was outdoors, so when you skated and the sun came out, the ice melted and you got completely wet if you fell. Then I moved to London because it had a real indoor stadium.
What did your training sessions involve?
We skated for hours and hours. Back then, we had compulsory geometric patterns — such as circles, loops, and turns — to be traced onto the ice on one foot. Those exercises took three or four hours a day; they were incredibly demanding. And then we practised: jumps, spins, everything. We repeated them over and over again. I trained seven or eight hours a day. In those years, I studied privately. I would study in the spring and take my exams afterwards. I completed my third year of secondary school in Cortina and then moved to Vienna for training.
What was your family like? Did they encourage you?
I was an only child, living with my parents and grandmother in Cortina, where our family owned and ran a hotel called “Victoria.” My father was very athletic — he had competed in the 1936 Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen as a bobsledder — so he understood my passion for sport. They encouraged me to take up skating. My family paid for everything, from train tickets to hotel stays when I travelled to the Italian championships. So of course, you needed to be able to afford it.
How did people react when you qualified for the Olympics?
Everyone was incredibly enthusiastic and happy — and, of course, so was I. I found out I’d secured a spot on the Italian Olympic team shortly before the Olympics, after finishing second at the Italian championships.
What was Olympic life like?
The Italian team was based at the Hotel Venezia in Cortina. Women were not allowed to go out in the evenings and were closely monitored, whereas the men had permission to go out. We had a few free hours in the afternoon when, for example, I could visit my parents, but otherwise we had to either train or stay in the hotel.
Whenever I visited my family, I’d usually eat there because the food at the hotel was absolutely terrible!
What kind of relationship did you have with your teammates? Excellent, especially with Fiorella , who I was friends with because we had trained together in London. I was very fond of her, but I always got on well with the others, too. There was an atmosphere of solidarity.
Who made your competition costumes? Did anyone help with hair and makeup?
No one wore makeup, and no one had their hair professionally done — we just combed it ourselves. We didn’t need long hairstyles like athletes often have today. I kept my hair very short because it was more practical.
As for the competition costume, it was made by a seamstress in Cortina. The materials were certainly nothing like the technical fabrics used today. They were basically windbreakers, and definitely not padded. Today’s suits are far more practical and above all, much warmer. We wore woollen gloves.
Do you remember how you felt during the competition?
Above all, I remember a great deal of apprehension and fear, because it was the first time I had ever competed in a world championship. I had taken part in two European Championships, but never a world event, so suddenly finding myself among the best skaters in the world made me very anxious.
How did it go?
The competition didn’t go very well. I finished among the last. Unfortunately, Fiorella also skated poorly that year. She didn’t seem to be feeling very well, and in the end neither of us delivered our best performances.
When did you decide to retire from competitions, and why?
I retired right after the Olympics because I needed to continue my studies. It was essential for my father that I finish school, and skating had become incredibly demanding. I simply had no life outside of training. At 16 or 17, you also want to start living a little.
What is the first difference you notice between the world of sports then and today?
They skate ten thousand times better than we did. But they’re also all professionals now, whereas we were all amateurs.
What is your fondest memory of the 1956 Olympics?
The parade — when we walked the entire length of Cortina from the start of Corso Italia to the ice arena, while the crowds lined the streets applauding. People were calling my name because they knew me. And of course, the moment they lit the Olympic flame. I simply couldn’t believe I was there. I couldn’t fully grasp it.
The perspectives expressed in Culture Current are the subject’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Reuters News.
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