Di Centa, born in
Paluzza,
province of Udine, to a family of Nordic skiers, made her debut on the Italian national team in 1980 at the age of 17, skied with the
G.S. Forestale. Two years later, she competed at the
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo, finishing in eighth place. After a quarrel with the president of the Italian Skiing Federation, Di Centa left the national team, not returning until 1986. At the
1988 Winter Olympics in
Calgary, she finished sixth in the 20 km freestyle. She won her first medals in international competition at the
1991 World Championships in
Val di Fiemme: a silver (4 × 5 km relay) and two bronzes (5 km, 30 km). An Olympic medal followed in
1992, a bronze in the 4 × 5 km relay. In 1993, at the
Falun World Championships, she won two more silvers (30 km, 4 × 5 km relay). At the
1995 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, she won another silver (30 km) and a bronze (5 km). Di Centa also became Italian national champion in
fell running in 1985, 1989 and 1991. Di Centa seemed confined to the role of the eternal second, but this changed abruptly at the
1994 Winter Olympics in
Lillehammer, where she medaled in all five cross-country events: two gold, two silver and one bronze medal. The same year she also won her first aggregate Cross-Country Skiing World Cup, a feat she repeated in 1996. In 1996 she was the first Italian cross-country skier to receive the
Holmenkollen Medal. Her last title was a bronze at the
1998 Winter Olympics in the 4 × 5 km relay. After retiring, Di Centa worked for Italian television (
RAI), and became a member of the Italian and
International Olympic Committees. Di Centa became the first Italian woman to climb
Mount Everest (with supplementary oxygen) in 2003. ==2006 Winter Olympics==