Six Olympics, and 12 medals.

Arianna Fontana, the living legend of Italian ice sports, has made history again at age 36. On the 10th, at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Italy, she competed for Italy in the short-track mixed 2000m relay at the Milan·Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics and hung a gold medal around her neck. It was the third Olympic gold of her career, and her 12th medal overall. She extended her own record for the most Olympic medals in short track. The next-best tally is eight, collected by Apolo Anton Ohno, Ahn Hyun-soo, and others. The gap has grown wider.

The 2006 Turin Games marked the Olympic debut of Fontana. At just 16, she won bronze in the 3000m relay, becoming the youngest Olympic medalist in Italian history. She then competed at every OlympicsVancouver·Sochi·PyeongChang·Beijingand won medals at all of them. And now, Milan. Two decades on, at a Winter Olympics held in her home country, Fontana, the oldest competitor in short track, once again wore a medal around her neck.

In a pre-Games interview, Fontana said, “If Turin 20 years ago felt like a welcome party into the world of skating, this year Milan feels like it will be a homecoming party.” Having crowned her ‘homecoming party’ with gold, Fontana said, “The chant for Italy in the final was that this is our home, and we came here to defend it,” adding, “We wanted to show the home crowd that we are here and we came with a mission. We proved it with the result.” Asked how the 16-year-old Fontana from the Turin Games might view her now, she laughed: “‘Why are you still skating?’ she would probably ask, but she would surely be proud.”

It is uncommon for a 36-year-old athlete to maintain her level for 20 years. Fontana points to high-intensity weight training and sprint work, and a diet that excludes sugar and dairy altogether, as her secrets. In an earlier Reuters interview, she said, “By not eating foods like sugar, I experience less inflammation and recover faster,” adding, “I can no longer train the way I did at 20, but I am stubborn.”

Twelve medals may not be the end of Fontana’s count. She is set for the women’s 500m quarterfinals on the 13th. A bid for the 2030 Alps Winter Olympics is also on the table. Fontana said, “I will not say Milan is the last. As long as the fire inside me is alive, and as long as I feel my limits have not yet arrived, I will stay on the ice.”