The Olympics are a career highlight for any figure skater who qualifies. But for Lara Naki Gutmann, 23, it was even more special, because the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympic Games took place in her home country of Italy.
The home Olympics made for an exciting, but demanding, season for the Italian skater. Although it was draining at times, Gutmann rose to the challenge and helped the Italian figure skating team win an Olympic team bronze medal in Milano. It was an unforgettable moment for Gutmann, her teammates, and Italian skating fans.
In addition to the Olympic team bronze, Gutmann also won her first medal (bronze) at the European Championships in January and placed a career-best 5th at the World Championships in March. It was her strongest season to date in terms of results, and came at the perfect time.
When we spoke with Gutmann at the World Championships in Prague, she reflected on her season and what it was like to proudly represent her country in Milano. Gutmann–who exudes a calm, serene presence off the ice–also talked about her background and plans for the future.
“I feel really good,” Gutmann said of the competition in Prague. “Tired, but really, really good. I’m proud of myself for how I handled the whole season. It’s been a long season. I had to fight for the Olympic spot. Then, the Olympics were intense and emotional. The Games, and being in the Olympic Village together [with the Italian team], and being at home, was special. The medal, especially, brought us really together–for life, maybe. Then, I had to fight to be here [at Worlds] and still be somehow in shape. Now I finally have some time to realize what happened. After the Olympics, I didn’t have so much time.”
Trento: Where it all started
Top-level figure skaters often live far away from home, moving to different countries or even continents to find the right training environment. Gutmann, by contrast, has spent her entire life training in the same rink where she first began skating, at the age of three. The initial spark that lit her career was also connected to her country–watching Italy’s previous home Olympics, the 2006 Torino Winter Games.
“I started skating because I saw the Torino Olympics on TV, and I fell in love with the sport,” Gutmann said. “I was three years old, so I was really, really young. But I wanted to become like those skaters I was seeing.”
No one in her family had been involved in skating before, and there was no ice rink in Rovereto, the city where her family lives. So her mother found the closest rink, which was about twenty minutes away in Trento, Italy. Gutmann began taking skating lessons at the rink.
“I started skating in Trento, and I’m still training there. It’s been almost 20 years now,” Gutmann said. “My main coach is Gabriele Minchio. And we have other coaches, and I also train with them. I’ve always felt like I could progress and find my own bubble in Trento.”
Gutmann skates alongside some talented juniors, but there is only one other senior-level skater who trains consistently at the rink. Austrian champion Maurizio Zandron joined them this past season, but announced his retirement after Worlds.
“We’re a young group. But it’s nice for me, and I like it,” Gutmann said. “It helps to have my family and my friends and all my things here. I’m staying with my parents, and I have a dog. I feel like my parents and everyone around me helped me grow a way to think about everything. This helped me to just enjoy skating and be passionate about it. And this is what brought me to go up [progress] in a constant way. I think that’s really important.”
Gutmann also has a boyfriend, who lives and works in Florence. They see each other when time permits, but both have busy schedules.
“He’s not a skater. But he always did sports, so he understands, I think, what I need to do every day,” Gutmann said.
For now, her life is centered in the Trento area–and there are certainly many reasons to stay, even aside from her family and coaches.The city is nestled in the Adige valley in northeast Italy, at the edge of the Italian Alps. Nearby is Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy. The lake is Gutmann’s favorite place to retreat when she needs a break from training.
“On my rest days, what really helps me to put my mind at ease and relax is going to the lake,” she said. “It’s between mountains. So it’s a unique view, which I love, and it’s close to home, and it’s really, really nice for me. I enjoy it in every season.”
Gutmann also likes playing basketball, tennis, and other sports during her time off. But, although she lives right next to the Alps, skiing is not a regular activity.
“I do know how to ski, and I like it,” she said. “But it’s been years now that I don’t go. I don’t want to hurt myself in any way!”
Gutmann’s home is about an hour’s drive south of where Carolina Kostner, the famous Italian figure skating champion and 2014 Olympic medalist, grew up in South Tyrol. Gutmann also has a connection to South Tyrol, an Italian province where the primary languages are German and Ladino. Gutmann’s father is from South Tyrol, so she grew up speaking German with him at home, and Italian with her mom (who is from Milano).
Kostner was one of the skaters whom Gutmann watched at the 2006 Olympics and who first inspired her to try the sport. She remains a major influence.
“Of course, she was a role model for a lot of us,” Gutmann said. “For my generation, for sure–but not only mine. It’s important to be inspired by these amazing skaters who made history. And to live in the present and try to push forward, right? Plus, Carolina is really, really nice.”
A skater with programs to remember
As with Kostner during her career, it’s important to Gutmann that her programs be more than just competitive vehicles. Gutmann is recognized among skating fans for her original music choices and innovative programs, such as her famous Squid Game short program in 2024-25 and her unique Jaws free skate this season. She revealed that she’s always been drawn to the performance side of skating.
“I have a lot of videos that my mom used to take. Already, when I was really young, I really liked to skate to the music, with my dress [costume] and interpretation,” Gutmann noted. “I wouldn’t say it felt natural, because you have to learn and fall and get up. But I enjoyed it very much, from the beginning. Artistic movement was, I’d say, pretty natural for me. But the ‘face’–being present and being involved with everyone [the audience]–that’s what I had to learn.”
Throughout her career, Gutmann has always strived to offer something different with her programs. Not only does this make an impression on judges and audiences, it increases her own level of engagement.
“I really like the emotional part of the programs. We always try to put everything together and somehow express a story and an emotion,” she said. “Since I was young, I feel like my coach, my team, and I always tried to do something original. It’s an aspect that really motivates me–to work every day on something different. It’s just fun!”
Earlier in her career, Gutmann’s coach Gabriele Minchio choreographed most of her programs. But, starting in 2024, she turned to Stephane Lambiel and then Lori Nichol–choreographers who worked with Carolina Kostner–to help further develop her presentation. These collaborations have led to Gutmann’s most popular, and successful, programs.
“I really enjoyed working with Lori for the first time this year. She has a different approach on the choreography construction,” Gutmann said. “She really works in every single detail, and that’s really interesting for me. And Stephane–I love him as an artist and as a skater. He was one of the skaters I really enjoyed watching when I was growing up. So I enjoy working with him as well. He just goes on the ice and starts doing stuff, and then I have to repeat it. And it’s so difficult, because he does it so well. It’s not so easy!”
There are several other key members of Gutmann’s team whom she credits with helping develop her programs and presentation.
“I also work with Prisca Picano, a ballerina from Milano, on the story behind the music and the program,” Gutmann said. “And then I have Riccardo Morelli, another choreographer in Trento, who helps me to polish little details during the season, when I can’t see Lori or Stephane or Prisca. I feel really lucky to be working with these amazing artists.”
Gutmann feels that skating judges appreciate the work she’s put into developing the performance aspect.
“I’m happy about my [PCS] scores,” she said. “Of course, there are some details we can improve. I think skating skills [is something] I could boost up. At the end of the season, we always look at every score and try to see what aspects we can work on a little more, or a little less. So, we will study.”
Thoughts on the technical side of skating
Although known for her presentation, Gutmann is also a strong jumper and athlete. She doesn’t rule out the possibility of working on higher-level jumps in the future, but says it hasn’t been her priority so far.
“I feel like skating is evolving every year. We’re seeing in the men’s event, it’s full of quads now. So every one of us is trying to evolve, and I think we will see more triple axels and more quads [in women’s skating],” Gutmann said. “That’s important, of course, for the evolution of the sport. But from my perspective, also, I think we need to remind ourselves that the artistic and choreographic part in our sport is really important. We need to remember that, and put everything together.”
Last summer during the off-season, Gutmann spent some time working on quad Salchow on the harness. She chose to try quad Salchow rather than triple Axel because she feels the Salchow is generally a stronger jump for her than the Axel. She paused this work during the regular season, though.
“I think there’s a right time for everything. And this was the Olympic season,” Gutmann noted. “I didn’t want to push too much on new stuff, because I knew I had to do what I can do, as well as I can. We focused on that first. Now that it’s the off-season again, maybe I’ll try. We’ll see.”
Future plans
With the 2025-26 season now finished, Gutmann will probably take some time off when she can. “I love going to the sea,” she said. “I don’t have much time to go on vacation, and I live in the valley, but in the mountain area. So I really love the sea. And usually in Italy. It’s close, and it’s beautiful.”
Gutmann is also set to star in Stephane Lambiel’s new show this summer, “L’Arbre de Lumiere” (The Tree of Light), which will feature original music by Beatrice Berrut and choreography by Lambiel. The show will take place August 6-7 in Champery, Switzerland, the home of Lambiel’s Skating School of Switzerland. It’ll be another opportunity for Gutmann to grow artistically.
She plans to work again with Lambiel and Lori Nichol on new programs for next season.
“I think this year, my programs were really different from one another, but I loved them both. And so it will be next year,” she said.
Gutmann plans to continue competing next season, and possibly beyond.
“I think I will do four more years. For sure, I’ll do next year. And then we’ll see,” she said. “But as long as I love skating and find motivation in what I do, in improving every day, I will continue.”
