Matteo Rizzo: “Skating is happiness – has it always been that way? I’d be lying if I said yes, no, but that’s normal. There have been some very tough moments when I almost hated it, and that’s normal too. But it’s nice that I can say that for me now it’s happiness.”
Interview with Matteo Rizzo for Venity Fair Italy. Italian figure skater Matteo Rizzo discusses the importance of resilience, joy, and learning in his sport, as well as his hopes for the impact of the Milan-Cortina Olympics on figure skating in Italy.
original source: vanityfair.it dd. 23d January 2026 by Chiara Pizzimenti
Italian figure skater Matteo Rizzo reflects on his recent European silver medal, his Olympic preparations, and the emotional significance of competing at home in Milan-Cortina 2026. Here’s a translation of his comment.
“The first thing to ask the Italian figure skater is exactly where he is right now.
Matteo Rizzo: It’s important to be exactly where the calendar says we are. There are two weeks left until the Olympics begin, so you have to be in a special phase of preparation. I’m coming off a week of competition, so I need to recover: it’s essential to give the body a bit of time to readjust, but knowing that we’re just a step away from the most important event of the four-year cycle.
Q: Mentally, how difficult is it to organize yourself?
Matteo Rizzo: We’ve been working on this, especially mentally, for many years. I experienced very strong emotions last week, of course, because a medal always brings huge emotions. I tried to contain them, in a way, because I knew perfectly well that the Olympics were just three weeks away. The Olympics are a competition you wait for a long time, and you absolutely don’t want anything to jeopardize a good performance, so you hold back on emotions and celebrations. Even if you have a medal around your neck, it has to be a normal day, because there’s an even more important goal ahead.
Q: Do you keep track? How much have you worked for the Olympic goal?
Matteo Rizzo: Usually, you think a lot in four-year cycles. You prepare for an Olympics even four years in advance, strategically and in terms of planning. Not just the Olympics, but every other competition is part of the build-up: you prepare programs that reflect the culture of the place you’re in and much more. You participate in every training session, every competition, knowing that the goal is to qualify for the Olympics and then perform there. That’s always in the back of your mind.
Q: What can you tell us about your Olympic program?
Matteo Rizzo: Visually, nothing will change at all compared to the competitions I’ve done before, at the European Championships, where I was able to perform very well in all my programs. There were some mistakes that I’ll try to fix and improve, but the most important thing, in my opinion, is the emotion that such an important competition at home can give us. The best thing is to be able to experience it, because it’s not even a given that you can fully enjoy such a big emotion. I hope I’m lucky enough and confident in my training to be able to do that.
Q: Who will be with you at the Olympics?
Matteo Rizzo: In addition to my coach, there will also be part of my staff, since they’ll be there with other athletes from other countries. We can only bring one coach each, not the whole team. But I’m lucky that three of the coaches I work with on the ice will be there. And since it’s at home, my mom will definitely be cheering in the stands, as will my dad.
Q: Does it make a difference to have someone in the stands? At the last Olympics, there was no one.
Matteo Rizzo: For me, it’s a night-and-day difference. I often skate for the audience, so I love seeing a full arena and feeling the emotions of the people. In Beijing in 2022, I really suffered from the lack of spectators. Here, knowing that there will be so many people watching gives me so much energy, and I really can’t wait to be there and enjoy that moment.
Q: The best and worst moments during a competition on the ice?
Matteo Rizzo: The worst moment is almost the second before the music starts. There are various reasons – maybe because that’s when the last thoughts come in before the routine. You worry the music won’t start or that it’s the wrong one. That’s actually happened. The best moment, in my opinion, is always while you’re skating: being able to enjoy the emotion you’re experiencing and transmitting is wonderful.
Q: Is a mistake not a difficult moment?
Matteo Rizzo: A mistake can happen. What we learn as athletes is to accept it very quickly. Being able to move on immediately, without thinking about it for more than two seconds, is the key to everything. So you have to know it can happen, obviously try to avoid it, but if it does, you need to move on right away.
Q: What does skating mean to you?
Matteo Rizzo: Right now, I’d say it’s a lot of happiness, more than freedom. In the past, I would have said freedom, but now it’s happiness because I’ve realized that, with good training and a supportive team behind me, I really enjoy skating when I’m in competition. I skate much better than I did in many situations in the past, and that makes me very happy.
Q: So skating is happiness – has it always been that way?
Matteo Rizzo: I’d be lying if I said yes, no, but that’s normal. I have a fairly long career behind me. I did my first European Championships ten years ago, and back then I was a completely different person. I experienced this sport differently. Over these ten years, there have been some very tough moments when I almost hated it, and I think that’s normal too. But it’s nice that now, at this point in my career, I can say that for me, it’s happiness.
Q: Your sport has become your profession. Was there a moment when you realized it was your life?
Matteo Rizzo: Unfortunately or fortunately, our sport is very early-specialized. You have to make that choice between twelve and fourteen years old, so that’s when, more than making it your job – because at that age, especially financially, it’s not sustainable – you already have to dedicate a lot of time to this sport. You have to make important sacrifices: no going out with friends, especially on weekends, and in my case, evening classes so I could train all day.
Q: Have you ever tried any other sports you love?
Matteo Rizzo: By now, I’m too old to start a new sport, because it’s essential to start as a child to learn it best and develop the right habits. But of course, I’d try for fun. As long as skating is my job, I have no intention of changing my life.
Q: Do you think during your two programs?
Matteo Rizzo: That’s the goal, and we work a lot on the mental aspect, but sometimes thoughts do come in. The important thing is to keep them at bay. More thoughts come in when performances aren’t good, because there’s a bit of fear, negativity. While skating, ideally your mind should be completely empty, free of any thoughts.
Q: Do you watch and study your competitors?
Matteo Rizzo: Yes, it’s fundamental. I think it’s the basis of every sport, especially learning from those who are stronger than you. At competitions, especially when you’re a junior, between 12 and 17 years old, it’s essential to look around and see if someone is doing something better than you and have the humility to ask how they do it. Learning from others is fundamental.
Q: A few days ago, there was news about Giovanni Franzoni being beaten by Sinner at age nine. Now he’s winning in the World Cup in skiing. This story shows the work behind champions.
Matteo Rizzo: Absolutely. I was a late bloomer as an athlete. There are athletes in my sport who reach incredible levels between 15 and 17, which I reached at 19 or 20. Progress is important, consistency is important. In our sport, if you’re not the best in your category at 12 or 13, it means nothing – you might gain such awareness of your body at 15 that you become stronger.
Q: Do you choose the music for your programs?
Matteo Rizzo: We usually choose the music between April and May, because that’s when we create the choreography for the next season. I’ve always chosen my music myself, obviously narrowing it down from several options. Then I propose them to my choreographer, and we try them out and listen together, because I really value the choreographer’s opinion. We always manage to find the perfect middle ground. We’ve always managed to create very interesting things. I know skaters who are just given music and they accept it and skate to it all year. I’ve never been able to do that, because I listen to the music every day for a year and I need to feel an emotion.
Q: Your best competition?
Matteo Rizzo: These Europeans were very important because I had a not-so-great first part of the season, and we went back and reworked everything with the team to see where we might have gone wrong. We aimed for a medal, and it was really great. I think I really enjoyed the whole week of competition.
Q: In these last months of intense training, have you managed to do anything else?
Matteo Rizzo: I watch a lot of TV series because my relaxation is the couch. I rewatched Game of Thrones for the third time, which for me is the best series, and I watched Agatha Christie’s The Seven Dials Mystery. My friends and I all love motorsport; I have a racing simulator at home with my computer, and we do a lot of online races. Even last Sunday, before leaving for the Europeans, I did a four-hour race with a friend.
Q: Your ideal vacation?
Matteo Rizzo: I can’t think about the next ones, but for me, vacations are about relaxation and stillness. I go to the sea and stay there. In my ideal vacation, there’s no cold.
Q: What can an Olympics in Italy bring to figure skating?
Matteo Rizzo: One thing that will happen – and I really hope in large numbers – is that in Italy, especially, boys and girls at a young age will be able to approach this sport, because it’s a truly all-around sport. We work on so many different aspects. I’m sure that an event like the Olympics can help this movement. In every interview, every competition, every statement, I’ve always tried to send the message to try, to give it a go, because I know it’s a little-known sport, complicated to follow, and not easy to practice because there aren’t many rinks, but there are opportunities, and after this Olympics, I think there will be even more. For me, it opened up the world, let me experience different cultures. I have friends in every country in the world. It opens so many doors. There’s competitiveness, there’s consistency, and it’s wonderful to practice.”
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