Marta Capurso (born August 18, 1980 in Turin ) is a former Italian short tracker . She started in her hometown for the Velocisti Ghiaccio Helios club , and from 2005 she also belonged to the Gruppi Sportivi Fiamme Gialle , a sports promotion group of the Guardia di Finanza . She was accepted into the national team at the age of 14. Capurso took part in the Olympic Games in 2002 and 2006 and won a bronze medal. In 2006 she was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for her services in sport .
Capurso made her debut in international championships at the Junior World Championships in Courmayeur in 1996 , her best result was a fifth place in the final over 1500 m. In the following years she continued to be successful at junior world championships. 1997 Marquette was in the all around Fifth and missed as fourth over 500m a medal narrowly, 1998, she was in St. Louis finally reach in any single race the final and bronze over 1000 m win their first international medal in 1999 in Montreal won she bronze in the all-around event and won the 500 m race. In the adult sector, Capurso achieved his first successes at the 1999 European Championships in Oberstdorf and the 1999 World Championships in Sofia . At the European Championships she won gold in the relay, at the World Championships she reached the semi-finals over 1500 m as the best individual result, with the relay she won the silver medal.
Her next successes landed Capurso at the European Championships 2001 in The Hague . She was fourth in the all-around competition, second over 1000 m and third over 1500 m. Afterwards she celebrated her best World Cup results to date. In Graz she was third over 500 m and reached a podium for the first time, over 1000 m and 3000 m she was also fourth in the final. In the 2001/02 season , Capurso first took part in all World Cup races. Her best results were two finals. Over 500 m she was seventh in the overall discipline ranking. At the European Championships in Grenoble she was third in the 500 m and reached two other finals in individual races. In the all-around competition she was fifth, with the relay she was able to win the gold medal again. Capurso qualified for the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City . She started over 500 m and reached the quarter-finals, with the relay she finished fifth.
In the 2002/03 season , Capurso took part in four World Cups. She reached six semifinals and the 500m final once, with the relay she achieved a podium. In all World Cup rankings she placed among the top twelve runners. At the European Championships in Saint Petersburg Capurso was fifth in the all-around, over 1000 m she was second and with the relay she was able to defend the title from the previous year. At the World Championships in Warsaw she was fourth with the relay, at the Team World Championships in Sofia Capurso took third place with her teammates. The 2003/04 World Cup season was Capurso's most successful so far. With the relay she was able to take a podium place four times, in individual races she was third once over 500 m and 1000 m and once second over 1500 m. Over 500 m she was fifth in the discipline ranking. At the European Championships in Zoetermeer, Capurso was able to win a medal in the all- around for the first time with bronze, she also came third in the 1500 m, second in the 3000 m and this time she won silver in the relay. In Gothenburg Capurso played their most successful world championship . She was fifth in the all-around competition, won over 500 m silver and over 3000 m bronze and reached over 1500 m and the final with the relay. At the team world championship in Saint Petersburg, she finally repeated winning the bronze medal from the previous year. The 2004/05 season continued successfully for Capurso in the World Cup. She reached third place twice over 500 m and was fourth in the discipline ranking. She achieved another podium placement over 3000 m. At the European Home Championships in Turin, she repeated winning the bronze medal in the all-around event, over 500 m and 1500 m she was second. In the 2005/06 Olympic season , Capurso was particularly successful in team competitions. With the relay she achieved third place twice in the World Cup. At the European Championships in Krynica-Zdrój she again won gold in the relay. She also came second over 1000 m and third over 1500 m. She played her second Olympic Games in her hometown of Turin and took part in all three individual races. Over 500 m she was fifth as the winner of the B final, over 1500 m she moved into the semi-finals and over 1000 m she was disqualified early. However, she achieved her best result in the relay, surprisingly the quartet won the bronze medal. Also at the subsequent World Cup in Minneapolis , she was able to win the bronze medal with the relay.
The 2006/07 season was initially less successful for Capurso. She was only able to convince at the penultimate World Cup in Heerenveen , where most of the big short track nations did not start. She won her first World Cup race over 1000 m and was then also victorious in the relay. At the European Championships in Sheffield she won her eighth and last European Championship medal, she won the silver medal with the relay. In their last season 2007/08 Capurso was able to reach a final in an individual World Cup race over 1500 m. With the season she came in second three times. At the World Championships in Gangneung , she just missed another medal with the relay as fourth. Her last title fights she denied at the team world championship in Harbin , where the Italian team finished fifth. After the season, Capurso ended her active career.
Web links
Marta Capurso in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
Italy
