Giorgio VANZETTA

In 1971, Giorgio Vanzetta won his first major race, the Italian Boys Championship, and joined the national team in 1978 while still a junior, after winning the European Championship. He achieved his first top World Cup result in January 1982 in a 15 km race, while his first podium (third) came in March 1986 in the 15 km classical and his only victory came in March 1991 in a relay. His best placement in the overall World Cup ranking was ninth in 1982. He ended his career in the World Cup at the beginning of the 1997-98 season, but continued to compete in minor races until 2002. During his career he participated in five Winter Olympics (from 1980 to 1994), winning four medals. At the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics Vanzetta helped Italy win the gold medal in the relay in a major upset over host-country Norway, in what is often considered the greatest cross-country race in Olympic history.

Vanzetta also took part in eight World Championships between 1982-97, winning two silver medals in the relay in 1985 and 1993. Individually, he placed fourth three times, but never won a medal, although he achieved top 15 placements in all his 14 individual races at the World Championships. Domestically, Vanzetta won a total of 24 Italian titles over all distances – four in the 15 km, twice at 30 km and 50 km, and once in the 10 km, adding 15 relay titles with GS Fiamme Gialle, the sport section of the Italian Guardia di Finanza.

Together with his teammates from the victorious 1994 relay Vanzetta was one of the torchbearers within the Olympic Stadium at the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics. He was also noted to be one of the clients of notorious Italian EPO researcher Francesco Conconi. After Vanzetta left school, he started working as a carpenter, but at the age of 19 joined the Guardia di Finanza. He is the older brother of Bice Vanzetta, an Olympian and twice a medalist.