By Hiro Yoshida

With a home Olympic and a European medal under her belt from last season, Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann is only getting started as she looks ahead to the future.

Gutmann had by far her most successful season of competition in 2025-2026. Prior to her Olympic Team Event bronze medal in Milan, she also picked up bronze at this year’s European Championships in Sheffield, United Kingdom and closed things out by finishing fifth at the World Championships in Prague, Czechia, her best placement at both of those events. Those results have only given her more motivation to continue.

“It’s been the best season so far and I feel like I still have a lot to improve,” she said. “The first part from September to December was really intense because every competition I felt I needed to fight for my Olympic spot. It’s been a really long season and I’m really proud of the fact that I could somehow stay in shape through all of it because it’s not so easy.”

As well as the emotional high of winning an Olympic medal and having to regroup for her own individual event where she came 15^th and then Worlds a month later, Gutmann also had to deal with a minor physical ailment between Milan and Prague.

“After the team event at the Olympics, there was so much excitement and emotions and happiness,” she recalled. “I really mentally had to stay there and focused for my individual event. Energy was going down and after the Olympics, I had some problems with a little back pain, so I did physiotherapy every day for one month. Nothing serious, but still something that I don’t like to have. I don’t like having pain while I skate.”

Gutmann is based in Trento in northern Italy where she is coached by Gabriele Minchio. Last season her short programme was choreographed by Lori Nichol and her free skating by Stéphane Lambiel with further work done with Prisca Piano, a ballerina from Milan. Lambiel introduced her to Ghislain Briand from whom she receives technical guidance.

“My rink in Trento is closing every year for June and July,” she explained. “That’s why we go to the mountains, and then I go to Canada, and then to Switzerland again. I think it’s a good routine I found to prepare my seasons.”

Gutmann has earned a name for herself through her innovative music selections that have helped her stand out over the past number of seasons. Her “Jaws” free last season captured the attention and imagination of judges and fans alike. It has been a conscious effort from her and her team to push herself choreographically and not just on the technical aspect of her skating.

“My coach, Gabriele, found the music,” she said. “It’s always really difficult for me to find the new music when the season is not over yet. Last year he already had this original idea and Stephane liked it.

“Ghislain told me he actually skated to this music, but I already made the choice and I didn’t know that. It’s been really fun that he skated to this music. I think also Gary Beacom, but some years ago now. I really like the concept. It’s not so easy to hear some parts and put them together. I think my coach, Gabriele, is really good at it and then we also work with Karl Hugo.

“Throughout my whole career my coach and I tried to find every year something different and really have a story behind the choreography,” she said. “He used to do all my choreography before working with Stéphane and Lori. I think I improved a lot year by year.

“I’m really happy the fans and public liked my programme. I felt so much noise and support from everyone and I received a lot of little sharks. That’s really cute and I also love the fact that they call me ‘Sharknaki’. It’s fun. It’s so nice when you see that people go and buy especially for you, for your character, the little sharks.”

For Gutmann, the highlight of the season was wining that Olympic medal with her Italian teammates. The competition was an emotional whirlwind as she rapidly had to switch from performing mode in her free into cheerleading for Matteo Rizzo in the men’s free which immediately followed.

“That’s something that will stay in my mind forever,” she said. “I didn’t have so much time after my competition, so I went up to say hi to my dad and my boyfriend, who were watching me.

“Then it was Matteo’s turn to skate. I couldn’t find a way to get back to my box, so I was running. I got to the box in the exact moment when Matteo started skating. The whole box, we were all united by this strength and we started jumping with Matteo. We started screaming at every element he did and he delivered an amazing skate. We realised that we did it in that moment and I couldn’t believe it. I remember I turned to Niccolò Macii and I said, ‘I can’t believe this.’ It was just incredible, an amazing moment and we’ll share that.”

Team Italy had been fancied to vie for a medal before the Olympics began. While Gutmann and the Italian skaters felt the weight of expectation particularly with the Games being at home, she finds that she thrives in that sort of an atmosphere.

“There was some pressure because we knew we were a strong team this year, so we could do it,” she said. “Of course, every one of us had to give our contribution to the team to make it. I really like these team events, also like World Team Trophy. This team spirit helps me so much. When I went on the ice for the short programme, even during the six minutes and when I went near the team box, I felt the support from my teammates. That somehow gave me a lot of strength, but also calmness. I could transform the tension that is inevitable in competition into motivation.”

With the Olympics in Italy for the first time in 20 years, it was somewhat of a full circle moment for Gutmann to have athletes who competed in those 2006 Torino Games, such as Carolina Kostner and Barbara Fusar-Poli, with her in the Italian team box in Milan.

“I think it’s really motivating to have those historic champions there in the rink and in the box. It’s been really nice to share this moment with them.”

Gutmann was heartened to see how much her country got behind its athletes during the Milano Cortina Games and hopes that her performances will inspire a new generation of skaters.

”I started skating because of the Torino Olympics because I watched on TV the figure skating events when I was three. I don’t have any skater in my family. One of my goals was having this influence on someone. I received some messages from people watching skating for the first time and getting passionate about it. That’s something I can be really proud of.”

This is not the end of the road for Gutmann for the time being as she believes that she has more to offer the sport.

”I’m still really motivated every day to push myself to more goals. I know I have a lot to improve still. As long as I like it and I have fun, I’ll continue.”