Ramona Härdi (''Ramona Haerdi'') (born on April 9, 1997, in Möriken,

Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capita ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) is a Swiss speed-skater. She competed for

Switzerland at the 2018 Winter Olympics Switzerland competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 25 February 2018, with 166 competitors in 14 sports. They won 15 medals in total (five gold, six silver and four bronze), ranking 7th in the medal table. M ...

in the ladies'

mass start {{refimprove, date=February 2018 Mass start is a format of starting in some racing sports such as long-distance running in sport of athletics, speed skating, long-distance cross-country skiing and biathlon. There are usually many competitors in s ...

Biography

At the age of six, Härdi took up

inline skating Inline skating is a multi-disciplinary sport and can refer to a number of activities practiced using inline skates. Inline skates typically have two to five polyurethane wheels depending on the style of practice, arranged in a single line by a ...

and switched to speed skating later. She moved to

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in order for her to train for tournaments.

Career

Härdi started her career in

. In 2012, she participated in the Swiss Skate Tour Final in

Geisingen Geisingen is a town in the district of Tuttlingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the Danube, 13 km southwest of Tuttlingen, and 21 km southeast of Villingen-Schwenningen. History Geisingen is referenced (spelle ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where she placed first, She competed at the Swiss Championships in September 2013 and came in third place. Härdi's first major speed skating events were the 3000m at the Junior World Cup in Baselga di Pinè,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and the 2016 World Junior Championships in

Changchun Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In Italy, she came in fourteenth; in China, she came in fifteenth. The two events helped her overall rank twenty-third in the 2015-16 World Cup season with 45 points, thus qualifying her for the 2018 Winter Olympics. Härdi competed at the

2018 European Speed Skating Championships The 2018 European Speed Skating Championships were held between 5 and 7 January 2018 at the Kolomna Speed Skating Center in Kolomna, Russia. Events For the first time the European Championship is a single distance championship, with the followin ...

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva River, Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Populati ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and finished thirteenth.

2018 Winter Olympics

On January 15, 2018, it was announced by the Swiss Olympic team that Härdi would make her Olympic debut at the

2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , winte ...

. She and

Livio Wenger Livio Wenger (born 20 January 1993) is a Swiss long track speed skater and inline speed skater. In 2017, he competed in The World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, Poland where he won a silver medal in the 10k track points-elimination. At the 2018 Winter ...

are the only two Swiss speed skaters at the games. Härdi is the first Swiss skater to compete in the ladies' mass start event since its introduction at the 2018 Winter Olympics. In

Pyeongchang Pyeongchang (; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ; ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seou ...

, Härdi competed in the ladies' mass start. In the semi-finals, she

did not finish In racing, did not finish (DNF) denotes a result of a participant who does not finish a given race, either because of a mechanical failure, injury, or involvement in an accident. The term is used in: * Automotive racing such as Formula One; NASCA ...

, completing 4/16 laps, at a time of 2:49.59; ranking 12th. She did not qualify for the finals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Härdi, Ramona 1997 births Living people Speed skaters at the 2018 Winter Olympics Olympic speed skaters for Switzerland Swiss female speed skaters People from Lenzburg District Sportspeople from Aargau 21st-century Swiss women