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 for ...

. Born in

Abetone Abetone was a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about northwest of Pistoia. It has been a frazione of Abetone Cutigliano since 2017. History Abet ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

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

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 ''Fédération internationale de ski et de snowboard'' (FIS; en, International Ski and Snowboard Federation) is the highest international governing body for skiing and snowboarding. Founded on 2 February 1924 in Chamonix, France during the ...

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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and next appeared at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...

, where she finished fourth in both the women's downhill and combined, and joint-fourteenth (with

Laila Schou Nilsen Laila Schou Nilsen (18 March 1919 – 30 July 1998) was one of the foremost Norwegian sportspeople of the 20th century, best known as a speed skater, alpine skier, and tennis player. She was one of the pioneers in women's speed skating, both in N ...

) in the

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

. 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 ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

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

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

, and joint-fifteenth (with Silvia Glatthard) in the

downhill Downhill may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Downhill'' (1927 film), a British film by Alfred Hitchcock * ''Downhill'' (2014 film), a British comedy directed by James Rouse * ''Downhill'' (2016 film), a Chilean thriller directed by Patrici ...

. 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 ( it, VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( lld, Anpezo 1956 or ), was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from ...

, 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 west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...

, 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

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seghi, Celina 1920 births 2022 deaths Italian centenarians Italian female alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1948 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Olympic alpine skiers of Italy Women centenarians Sportspeople from the Province of Pistoia