Mirko Vuillermin (born 2 August 1973) is a retired

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the same size as a ...

who competed in the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

and in the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

Career

Vuillermin was born in

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of ...

. At the

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, Vuillermin was a member of the Italian relay team that finished eighth in the 5000 metre relay. On 27 March 1993, at the

World Short Track Speed Skating Championships The World Short Track Speed Skating Championships are a senior international short track speed skating competition held once a year to determine the World Champion in individual distances, relays and Overall Classification. It is sanctioned by th ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Vuillermin broke Mark Lackie's 500 m world record, recording a time of 43.08, with the gold medal in the 500 metres, which was Italy's first individual world championship gold medal in short track speed skating. At the

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the municip ...

, Vuillermin won the gold medal in the 5000 metre relay along with

Maurizio Carnino Maurizio Carnino (born 7 March 1975 in Turin) is an Italian short track speed skater and long track speed skater. He is a four-time Olympian, competing in the 1994 Lillehammer, 1998 Nagano, 2002 Salt Lake City, and 2006 ...

Orazio Fagone Orazio Fagone (born 13 November 1968) is an Italian sledge hockey player and former short track speed skater who competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics, 1992 Winter Olympics and 1994 Winter Olympics. After a motorcycle accident, he also competed as ...

and Hugo Herrnhof. He also claimed the silver medal in the

500 metres The 500 metres is a rarely run middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. All-time top 25 *i = indoor performance *OT = oversized track (exceeding 200m in circumference) *A = affected by altitude *h = hand timing Men *C ...

, and finished 21st In the

1000 metres The 1000 metres is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field competitions. The 1000 yards, an imperial alternative, was sometimes also contested. All-time top 25 *h = hand timed *i = indoor performance *A = affected by ...

. On 29 March 1996 Vuillermin captured another 500 m world record, winning the 500-meter race in 42.68 seconds at the

World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships The World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships were a professional team short track speed skating event and held once a year in a different country. The top eight countries from the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup The Short Track S ...

in Lake Placid. In 1997, Vuillermin competed in newly established

European Short Track Speed Skating Championships The European Short Track Speed Skating Championships are a European short track speed skating event and held once a year in a different country. Medal winners Men's 1 Thibaut Fauconnet of France was originally ranked first overall but was disq ...

, where he won the 500 metres and 1500 metres, and took the runner-up spot behind Italian fellow

Fabio Carta Fabio Carta (born 6 October 1977 in Turin) is an Italian short track speed skating, short track speed skater who competed in the 1998 Winter Olympics, 1998, the 2002 Winter Olympics, 2002, and the 2006 Winter Olympics. 1998 Olympics In 1998 he ...

in the overall competition.

Retirement

Vuillermin's career suddenly ended on 20 June 1997. Just weeks after teammate

had his right leg amputated in a motorcycle accident, Vuillermin nearly suffered the same fate. He crashed his motorcycle into a truck in

Quart, Aosta Valley Quart ( Valdôtain: ; Issime wae, Koart) is a town and ''comune'' in the Aosta Valley region of north-western Italy. Main sights The Quart Castle, built starting from 1185 by Jacques de la Porte de Saint-Ours, founder of the Lords of Quart. ...

, suffering severe injuries. It took him a year and a half to recover, but he would never again ice skate competitively.

External links

* Italian male short track speed skaters Olympic short track speed skaters for Italy Short track speed skaters at the 1992 Winter Olympics Short track speed skaters at the 1994 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Italy Olympic silver medalists for Italy Sportspeople from Aosta 1973 births Living people Olympic medalists in short track speed skating Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics {{Italy-Winter-Olympic-medalist-stub