Ornella Ferrara

Two-time Olympian Ornella Ferrara finished 13th in her marathon début in 1996 in Atlanta and was 18th four years later in 2000 in Sydney. Her career-best result was at the 1995 World Championships in Göteborg where she won the bronze medal in a time of 2-30:11. Ferrara set her personal marathon best time of 2-27:49 at the 2004 Roma Marathon when she was 36 years of age and had been off on two maternity breaks between 1998-2002. Included in her impressive marathon career were wins at Venice (1994), Vigarano (1995), Carpi (1997), Genova (2004), Brescia (2008) and a second-place finish at the 2013 mountain race challenge in Szklarsk Poreba, in Poland.

A member of the club Boyiso Masciago, Ferrara was first introduced to the sport as a sprinter at a young age, moving up to longer distances which was a more appropriate fit for her slight build.

Personal Best: Mar – 2-27:49 (2004).