Celina Seghi (6 March 1920 – 27 July 2022) was an Italian

alpine skier Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether ...

. Born in Abetone,

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, she was the youngest child in a family of nine and earned her first Italian championship medal, a bronze in the slalom, in 1934.

Biography

In 1937 Seghi earned three national titles, her first victories at that level, by winning the slalom, downhill, and combined events. In total she won a total of 25 gold, 6 silver, and 3 bronze medals at the Italian National Championships: gold seven times, silver thrice, and bronze twice in the downhill, gold and silver once each in the giant slalom, gold ten times, silver twice, and bronze once in the slalom, and gold seven times in the combined. On the international level Seghi won gold in the slalom and silver in the combined event at the 1941 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships, but the results of the tournament were nullified by the

International Ski Federation The International Ski and Snowboard Federation, also known as FIS (), is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. It was previously known as the International Ski Federation () until 26 May 2022 when the name was cha ...

due to the limited participation from only German-friendly nations. She resumed skiing after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and next appeared at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948 (; ), were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the ...

, where she finished fourth in both the women's downhill and combined, and joint-fourteenth (with Laila Schou Nilsen) in the slalom. In 1950 she captured her only recognized World Championship medal, bronze in the women's slalom, and two years later participated in the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, were a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 1952 in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Discussions about Oslo hosting ...

, finishing fourth in the women's slalom, seventh in the

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding competitive discipline. It involves racing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in Slalom skiing, slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant sl ...

, and joint-fifteenth (with Silvia Glatthard) in the downhill. She retired from active competition in 1956, shortly before the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( or ), were a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from 26 January to 5 February 1956. Cortina, which ...

, married a surgeon in 1970, and moved to

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

, where she continued to ski into her 90s. She turned 100 in March 2020 and died on 27 July 2022 at the age of 102 in

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seghi, Celina 1920 births 2022 deaths Italian women centenarians Italian female alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers for Italy Sportspeople from the Province of Pistoia 20th-century Italian sportswomen