To this day she is the only Italian female athlete who was able to win a medal at five consecutive Olympiads 1992-2006. She achieved the bronze medal four times in 1992 , 1994 , 1998 and 2006 with the relay and one single gold in 2002 over 30 km classic before her compatriot Stefania Belmondo .
At the World Championships she never won an individual medal, but with the relay three times silver in 1991 , 1993 and 1999 and twice in 2001 and 2005 bronze.
In her career, Paruzzi developed from an average athlete to a world class athlete. In her early years she was number three on the Italian team behind Manuela Di Centa and Stefania Belmondo. She was only considered a reliable relay runner, but initially failed to achieve success. Only at the age of 33 did Paruzzi win the Olympic gold medal and surprisingly won the overall World Cup in the 2003/04 season ahead of Marit Bjørgen . In her career, she celebrated six World Cup victories (two of them with the relay) before she retired from top-class sport in 2006.
Italy
Lahti
Dusseldorf
Nové Město
Falun