Giorgio DI CENTA

START OF SPORTING CAREER

• When he was a child he did a lot of hiking with older sisters Andrea and Manuela
• He made first steps on skis in the backyard of his house
• When he was older he started with more regular training in the Aldo Moro Sports Club where his father worked as a coach
• “I remember with a smile telling my sisters Andrea and Manuela when they started to compete in races of a certain level, that I would not be so stupid as to make so much effort. Growing up I realized that with sacrifice and perseverance I could achieve something special in my sport”
• In 1998 Di Centa got on the Italian Junior National Team
• At the age of 17 he got employed by Police and since then could focus on sport

CAREER

• World Cup debut took place in 1993 on the home ground in Santa Caterina (ITA)
• Di Centa claimed the firs World Cup podium in 1997 – 2nd place 15 km Free behind Silvio Fauner, who is now the head coach of the Italian Cross-Country team
• First appearance at the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano 1998, since then 9 individual and 4 team Olympic starts, 3 medals
• Two medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships (2005 and 2009)
• In 2012/13 season Di Centa finished in the 11th place in the Overall World Cup standing
• Di Centa announced that 2013/14 will be the last season of his career
• In July he herniated a disc during a roller skiing workout in July. He had to skip two training camps in Stelvio and Oberhof
• Another health problem happened when Di Centa fell off a bike and broke his 3rd metacarpal.

NATIONAL FIRSTS

• Second oldest World Cup winner - when Di Centa won his first individual World Cup competition in Canmore in 2010, he was 37 years old. Only Harri Kirvesniemi was older, when he won in Oslo in 2000 at the age of 41.

PERSONAL

• Giorgio Di Centa hast wo sisters Andrea and Manuela
• In 1996 Di Centa got married with his wife Rita and they have together three daughters – Laura, Martina and Gaia