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Dario Cologna

Dario Cologna
Dario Cologna during World Cup competitions in Seefeld in Tirol, Austria, in January 2018
Country Switzerland
Born (1986-03-11) 11 March 1986 (age 38)
Santa Maria Val Müstair,
Switzerland
Height179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Ski clubSC Val Müstair
World Cup career
Seasons16 – (20072022)
Indiv. starts285
Indiv. podiums73
Indiv. wins26
Team starts18
Team podiums2
Team wins1
Overall titles4 – (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015)
Discipline titles4 – (4 DI)
Medal record
Updated on 23 March 2022.

Dario Cologna (born 11 March 1986) is a Swiss retired cross-country skier. He has four overall World Cup victories, four Olympic gold medals, one World Championships gold medal and four Tour de Ski victories in his career.

On 3 November 2021, he announced his retirement from cross-country skiing following the 2021–2022 season.[1][2]

Early life

Cologna is a native Rumantsch speaker. He was born in Santa Maria Val Müstair, in the Lower Engadine, to Italian parents. His father Remo is from Val di Non in Trentino, while his mother Christine is from Stelvio/Stilfs in South Tyrol.[3]

He holds both Italian and Swiss citizenship.[4]

He is the older brother of Swiss skier Gianluca Cologna.[5]

Career

Early career and the breakthrough 2008–09 season

In 2006, Dario Cologna won a bronze medal at the 10 km classic event in the Junior World Championships in Kranj, Slovenia. Cologna debuted in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Kuusamo in November 2006 and took his first points in Falun in March 2007. During the 2007–08 season, Cologna finished in the top ten four times and placed 37th overall.

In December 2008, Cologna took his first World Cup podium finish with second place in the 30-kilometre competition in La Clusaz. On 27 December, he won his first World Cup race as he finished first on the 15 km classic pursuit on stage two of the 2008–09 Tour de Ski. He went on to win the Tour in January 2009, finishing the final event almost a minute ahead of runner-up Petter Northug.[6] Cologna also won the overall 2008–09 World Cup with more than 100 points in front of the runner-up after placing first twice and another three times on the podium.

2010 and 2014 Olympics

He finished the 2009–10 FIS Cross-Country World Cup fourth, winning a race and taking two other podiums. He also came in third in the 2009–10 Tour de Ski. In the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal in the men's 15km freestyle event. Cologna is the first Swiss to win a cross-country skiing gold medal at the Winter Olympics.[7]

Cologna won the 2010–11 FIS Cross-Country World Cup with more than 300 points ahead of Petter Northug, who came second. This season he won four races and took six other podiums, winning the 2010–11 Tour de Ski with 27 seconds ahead of Northug.

During the 2011–12 FIS Cross-Country World Cup season, Cologna won eight races and took twelve additional podium positions; his 20 podiums are, as of the 2018–19 season, still a record for most podiums in a season. On 8 January 2012, Cologna took his third Tour de Ski overall win in Val di Fiemme, winning the 2011–12 Tour de Ski. He finished more than a minute ahead of everyone else, with Marcus Hellner being second and Petter Northug third. With this performance, Cologna won his third Tour de Ski overall win, being the only male athlete ever to have done so. He also snatched the yellow jersey becoming world no. 1 in the 2011–12 FIS Cross-Country World Cup as of 8 January 2012.

At the World Championships 2013 in Val di Fiemme Cologna won the 30 km pursuit.

He won the 30 km skiathlon at the Sochi Olympics.[8] Later in the games he successfully defended his title from the Vancouver Olympics in the 15 km race, this time in classic technique.

2017–18 season: Fourth Tour de Ski and third consecutive Olympic 15 km

Cologna won his fourth Tour de Ski title by winning the 2017–18 edition. He won two of the six stages of the Tour, both in Lenzerheide, and won the overall standings with a margin of one minute and 26.5 seconds to second-placed Martin Johnsrud Sundby. Alongside female skier Justyna Kowalczyk, Cologna is the only athlete to win the Tour de Ski four times. At the PyeongChang Olympics, Cologna won the 15 kilometre freestyle. He became the first cross-country skier to win three consecutive 15 km Olympic events.[9] On 10 March 2018, he became the first Swiss to win the prestigious Holmenkollen 50 km.

He was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal in 2021.[10]

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).[11]

Olympic Games

  • 4 medals – (4 gold)
 Year   Age   15 km 
 individual 
 30 km 
 skiathlon 
 50 km 
 mass start 
 Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
2010 23 Gold 13 10 10 11
2014 27 Gold Gold 25 26 5
2018 31 Gold 6 9 11 11
2022 35 44 14[a] 7

a Distance reduced to 30 km due to weather conditions.

World Championships

  • 3 medals – (1 gold, 2 silver)
 Year   Age   15 km 
 individual 
 30 km 
 skiathlon 
 50 km 
 mass start 
 Sprint   4 × 10 km 
 relay 
 Team 
 sprint 
2009 22 6 41 4 7
2011 24 25 24 20 9 9
2013 26 8 Gold Silver 6
2015 28 18 Silver 6 5
2017 30 7 4
2019 32 6 14 7 8
2021 34 13 10 9 5

World Cup

Season titles

  • 8 titles – (4 overall, 4 distance)
Season
Discipline
2009 Overall
2011 Overall
Distance
2012 Overall
Distance
2015 Overall
Distance
2018 Distance

Season standings

 Season   Age  Discipline standings Ski Tour standings
Overall Distance Sprint Nordic
Opening
Tour de
Ski
Ski Tour
2020
World Cup
Final
Ski Tour
Canada
2007 21 145 94
2008 22 37 35 37 30 40
2009 23 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2010 24 4 4 13 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8
2011 25 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 12 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2012 26 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 6 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2013 27 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 4 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 5
2014 28 67 41 NC
2015 29 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 46 8 4
2016 30 23 20 42 13 DNF
2017 31 7 9 54 26 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5
2018 32 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 38 17 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2019 33 23 19 69 10 DNF 12
2020 34 10 9 89 DNF 7 10
2021 35 11 9 46 30 8
2022 36 58 32 NC DNF

Individual podiums

  • 26 victories – (15 WC, 11 SWC)
  • 73 podiums – (40 WC, 33 SWC)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place
1  2008–09  6 December 2008 France La Clusaz, France 30 km Mass Start F World Cup 2nd
2 27 December 2008 Germany Oberhof, Germany 3.75 km Individual F Stage World Cup 2nd
3 28 December 2008 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 1st
4 27 December 2008
– 4 January 2009
GermanyCzech RepublicItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 1st
5 20 March 2009 Sweden Falun, Sweden 3.3 km Individual F Stage World Cup 2nd
6 21 March 2009 10 km + 10 km Pursuit C/F Stage World Cup 1st
7 18–22 March 2009 Sweden World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 1st
8  2009–10  6 January 2010 Italy Cortina-Toblach, Italy 35 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 2nd
9 1–10 January 2010 GermanyCzech RepublicItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
10 5 February 2010 Canada Canmore, Canada 15 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
11 6 February 2010 1.7 km Sprint C World Cup 3rd
12 19 March 2010 Sweden Falun, Sweden 3.3 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st
13  2010–11  20 November 2010 Sweden Gällivare, Sweden 15 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
14 27 November 2010 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 10 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st
15 26–28 November 2010 Finland Nordic Opening Overall Standings World Cup 2nd
16 12 December 2010 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 1.4 km Sprint F World Cup 3rd
17 1 January 2011 Germany Oberhof, Germany 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 1st
18 2 January 2011 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 1.2 km Sprint C Stage World Cup 3rd
19 3 January 2011 10 km + 10 km Pursuit C/F Stage World Cup 2nd
20 5 January 2011 Italy Toblach, Italy 1.3 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 2nd
21 6 January 2011 Italy Cortina-Toblach, Italy 35 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 1st
22 8 January 2011 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 20 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 2nd
23 31 December 2010
– 9 January 2011
GermanyItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 1st
24 12 March 2011 Finland Lahti, Finland 10 km + 10 km Pursuit C/F World Cup 1st
25 16–20 March 2011 Sweden World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
26  2011–12  25–27 November 2011 Finland Nordic Opening Overall Standings World Cup 2nd
27 17 December 2011 Slovenia Rogla, Slovenia 15 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd
28 18 December 2011 1.2 km Sprint F World Cup 1st
29 29 December 2011 Germany Oberhof, Germany 3.75 km Individual F Stage World Cup 2nd
30 30 December 2011 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 3rd
31 1 January 2012 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 10 km + 10 km Skiathlon C/F Stage World Cup 2nd
32 2 January 2012 Italy Toblach, Italy 5 km Individual C Stage World Cup 3rd
33 4 January 2012 1.3 km Sprint F Stage World Cup 3rd
34 5 January 2011 Italy Cortina-Toblach, Italy 35 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 1st
35 7 January 2012 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 20 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 3rd
36 29 December 2011
– 8 January 2012
GermanyItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 1st
37 21 January 2012 Estonia Otepää, Estonia 1.4 km Sprint C World Cup 1st
38 22 January 2012 15 km Individual C World Cup 1st
39 11 January 2012 Czech Republic Nové Město, Czech Republic 30 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd
40 18 January 2012 Poland Szklarska Poręba, Poland 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
41 3 March 2012 Finland Lahti, Finland 15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 1st
42 10 March 2012 Norway Oslo, Norway 50 km Mass Start C World Cup 2nd
43 16 March 2012 Sweden Falun, Sweden 3.3 km Individual F Stage World Cup 2nd
44 17 March 2012 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 1st
45 14–18 March 2012 Sweden World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 1st
46  2012–13  2 December 2012 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 15 km Pursuit C Stage World Cup 2nd
47 3 January 2013 Italy Cortina-Toblach, Italy 35 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 3rd
48 3 January 2013 5 km Individual C Stage World Cup 3rd
49 29 December 2012
– 6 January 2013
GermanySwitzerlandItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 2nd
50 19 January 2013 France La Clusaz, France 15 km Mass Start C World Cup 3rd
51 1 February 2013 Russia Sochi, Russia 1.8 km Sprint F World Cup 2nd
52 2 February 2013 15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 1st
53 16 February 2013 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 1.5 km Sprint C World Cup 2nd
54 17 February 2013 15 km Individual F World Cup 2nd
55  2013–14  1 February 2014 Italy Toblach, Italy 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
56  2014–15  13 December 2014 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 15 km Individual C World Cup 2nd
57 3 January 2015 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 4 km Individual F Stage World Cup 1st
58 10 January 2015 Italy Val di Fiemme, Italy 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 3rd
59 23 January 2015 Russia Rybinsk, Russia 15 km Individual F World Cup 1st
60 1 February 2015 15 km + 15 km Skiathlon C/F World Cup 2nd
61 14 March 2015 Norway Oslo, Norway 50 km Mass Start F World Cup 2nd
62  2015–16  28 November 2015 Finland Rukatunturi, Finland 10 km Individual F Stage World Cup 3rd
63 6 January 2016 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 2nd
64  2016–17  3 January 2017 Germany Oberstdorf, Germany 10 km + 10 km Skiathlon C/F Stage World Cup 3rd
65 31 December 2016
– 8 January 2017
SwitzerlandGermanyItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
66 2017–18 31 December 2017 Switzerland Lenzerheide, Switzerland 15 km Individual C Stage World Cup 1st
67 1 January 2018 15 km Pursuit F Stage World Cup 1st
68 30 December 2017
– 7 January 2018
SwitzerlandGermanyItaly Tour de Ski Overall Standings World Cup 1st
69 28 January 2018 Austria Seefeld, Austria 15 km Mass Start F World Cup 1st
70 10 March 2018 Norway Oslo, Norway 50 km Mass Start F World Cup 1st
71 16–18 March 2018 Sweden World Cup Final Overall Standings World Cup 3rd
72  2019–20  15 December 2019 Switzerland Davos, Switzerland 15 km Individual F World Cup 3rd
73  2020–21  2 January 2021 Switzerland Val Müstair, Switzerland 15 km Mass Start C Stage World Cup 2nd

Team podiums

  • 1 victory – (1 RL)
  • 2 podiums – (2 RL)
No. Season Date Location Race Level Place Teammates
1 2010–11 19 December 2010 France La Clusaz, France 4 × 10 km Relay C/F World Cup 1st Livers / Fischer / Perl
2 2019–20 1 March 2020 Finland Lahti, Finland 4 × 7.5 km Relay C/F World Cup 2nd Klee / Rüesch / Furger

References

  1. ^ Tom Mc Adams (3 November 2021). "Four-time Olympic cross-country champion Cologna retires after season". Netherlands Live. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  2. ^ Michael Pavitt (3 November 2021). "Four-time Olympic champion Cologna to retire after FIS Cross-Country World Cup season". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  3. ^ "Cologna oro elvetico ma "made in Italy"". altoadige.it. 17 February 2018. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Dario COLOGNA". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  5. ^ Meier, Stefan (13 March 2013). "Erste Punkte! Gianluca Cologna sprintet auf Platz 6" (in German). Blick. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Cologna, Kuitunen win Tour de Ski titles". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 5 January 2009.[dead link]
  7. ^ "Dario Cologna takes gold in men's 15km cross country". BBC Sport. 2010-02-15. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  8. ^ "Sochi Olympics: Dario Cologna wins 15k-classic/15k-free skiathlon". LA Times. 2014-02-09. Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
  9. ^ "Dario Cologna Wins Gold Medal for Cross-Country Olympics 2018 15KM Individual". Bleacher Report. 2018-02-16. Archived from the original on 2018-02-16. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  10. ^ Bryhn, Rolf; Sundby, Jørn. "Holmenkollmedaljen". In Bolstad, Erik (ed.). Store norske leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Norsk nettleksikon. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Athlete : COLOGNA Dario". FIS-Ski. International Ski Federation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Swiss Sportsman of the Year
2013
Succeeded by
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for  Switzerland
Pyeongchang 2018
Succeeded by
Incumbent