Lara Naki Gutmann

Lara Naki Gutmann (born 6 November 2002) is an Italian figure skater. She is the 2024 Finlandia Trophy bronze medalist, a three-time ISU Challenger Series medalist (one silver, two bronze), the 2020 Nordics champion, the 2019 Dragon Trophy silver medalist, the 2018 Bosphorus Cup silver medalist, and a three-time Italian national champion (2021–23). She has reached the final segment at five ISU Championships, with a top-ten result at the 2023, 2024, and 2025 European Championships.

Personal life

Gutmann was born on November 6, 2002 in Trento, Italy. Her middle name, "Naki," is Ghanaian and means "first daughter."

She graduated from University of Camerino in 2025 with a degree in the Legal Sciences for Organizational Innovation and Social Cohesion.

Gutmann's figure skating idols are Yuna Kim and Carolina Kostner.

Career

Early years

Gutmann began learning to skate in 2006 after watching Carolina Kostner compete during the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. She won her first junior national medal, bronze, in December 2015 and had the same result the following year.

Her ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) debut came in October 2017. In December 2017, she became the Italian junior national silver medalist.

2018–2019 season

Gutmann placed nineteenth at her sole JGP assignment in Austria. In December 2018, making her first senior international appearance, she won silver at the Bosphorus Cup in Turkey. Later that month, she won bronze in the senior ladies' category at the Italian Championships, behind Alessia Tornaghi and Lucrezia Beccari, and was named in Italy's team to the 2019 European Championships. Ranked twenty-ninth in the short program, she did not advance to the final segment at the latter event, which took place in January in Minsk, Belarus.

2019–2020 season

Gutmann competed mainly in the senior ranks, with the exception of two JGP events. She finished sixth at JGP France and seventh at JGP Italy. In December, she repeated as national bronze medalist, this time finishing third behind Tornaghi and Marina Piredda. In February, she won silver behind Roberta Rodeghiero at the Dragon Trophy in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and then outscored Emmi Peltonen to take gold at the Nordic Championships in Stavanger, Norway.

2020–2021 season

In the off-season, Gutmann underwent ankle surgery. She was scheduled to make her Grand Prix debut at the 2020 Internationaux de France, but the event was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December, she won the gold medal at the Italian championships.

As the Italian national champion, Gutmann was named as the country's sole entry to the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, where she finished twenty-eighth. Subsequently, she was announced as part of the Italian team for the 2021 World Team Trophy. Gutmann placed seventh in both segments of the competition and set personal bests in the free skate and total score, while Team Italy finished in fourth place.

2021–2022 season

Gutmann began the season on home soil at the 2021 CS Lombardia Trophy. After a poor short program left her in eighteenth position going into the free skate, she placed third in that segment and rose to fifth overall. She next competed at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, seeking to qualify for a berth for Italian women at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Seventh in both segments of the competition, she placed eighth overall, 0.75 points behind Australia's Kailani Craine, who took the sixth of six available places. As a result, Italy became the first alternate country.

Following the cancellation of the 2021 Cup of China, Italy unexpectedly became the host of the third event in the Grand Prix, the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia. Gutmann was one of two Italian women assigned to compete at the home Grand Prix (along with Lucrezia Beccari), making her Grand Prix debut with an eleventh-place finish.

At the Italian Championships, Gutmann won her second straight national title. She was after that named to the Italian Olympic team, though she would only be competing in the team event. She began the new year at the 2022 European Championships, finishing sixteenth. Representing Italy in the team event, Gutmann skated cleanly in the short program, but did not attempt a triple-triple jump combination and finished ninth of ten skaters. The Italian team finished seventh among the teams in the short program segments and did not advance to the second phase. Gutmann finished the season with a twentieth place at the 2022 World Championships.

2022–2023 season

In three appearances on the Challenger circuit in the fall, Gutmann finished sixth on home ice at the 2022 CS Lombardia Trophy before winning the silver medal at the 2022 CS Nepela Memorial. She finished the series with a fourth-place at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, and then won her third straight national title.

Assigned to compete at the 2023 European Championships, Gutmann was thirteenth in the short program, but an eighth-place free skate lifted her to eighth overall. This achieved her primary goal of finishing in the top ten and earning a second berth for Italy the following year. Gutmann finished seventeenth at the 2023 World Championships.

Gutmann joined Team Italy for the 2023 World Team Trophy. She finished last in the short program with multiple errors. The free skate was an improvement, coming eighth in the segment. Team Italy finished in fourth place overall.

2023–2024 season

While she had previously appeared on the Grand Prix as a host selection, for the 2023–24 Grand Prix Gutmann received her first foreign assignment, the 2023 Skate Canada International. She said it was "very nice to have earned a spot." She began the season by finishing fifth at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy. At her second Challenger appearance of the season, she was seventh at the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial. She finished in ninth place at the Skate Canada International. Gutmann was subsequently added to the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo to replace Kimmy Repond, and placed seventh.

After an eighth-place finish at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, Gutmann won the silver medal at the Italian Championships. She then finished tenth at the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania. She subsequently closed the season by winning silver at the 2024 Dragon Trophy and the 2024 Merano Ice Trophy, as well as a gold medal at the 2024 Sonja Henie Trophy.

2024–2025 season: Grand Prix bronze medal

Gutmann began the season by competing on the 2024–25 ISU Challenger Series, finishing a disappointing tenth place at the 2024 CS Lombardia Trophy. She would have stronger showings at the 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge and the 2024 CS Nepela Memorial, where she won bronze at both events.

Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Gutmann finished sixth at the 2024 NHK Trophy. Although she was initially only assigned one Grand Prix event, Gutmann's name was assigned to the 2024 Finlandia Trophy following the withdrawal of Loena Hendrickx. At the event, Gutmann scored personal best scores in all competition segments, placing second in the short program and third in the free skate, securing the bronze medal overall. Gutmann finished only less than a point behind gold medalist Hana Yoshida. She expressed elation at her result, saying, "I am so happy. I was really nervous as this was my first time being in a medal position after the SP and winning a medal at such a big event." She was the only woman singles skater from Europe to medal on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit.

In December, Gutmann won the silver medal at the 2025 Italian Championships behind Anna Pezzetta. She was selected to compete at the 2025 European Championships in January, where she finished in sixth place, directly behind Pezzetta, after doubling two of her planned triple jumps in the free skate. In February, she competed at the Road to 26 Trophy in Milan, which served as a test event for the 2026 Winter Olympics. She was in first place after the short program, but she finished in third place overall to win the bronze medal after the free skate, where she fell on an underrotated triple Lutz jump. A couple weeks later, she won gold at the 2025 Sonia Henie Trophy.

Selected to compete at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, Gutmann came in thirteenth place after finishing fourteenth in the short program and twelfth in the free skate. A couple weeks later, she competed for Team Italy at the 2025 World Team Trophy, where she scored personal bests in all segments of the women's competition and finished in sixth place overall. With these placements, Team Italy won the bronze medal overall.

Programs

Competitive highlights

Detailed results

Senior level

Junior level

References

External links

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Lara Naki Gutmann
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gutmann, Lara Naki
2002 births
Living people
Italian female single skaters
Sportspeople from Trento
Figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics
Olympic figure skaters for Italy
Competitors at the 2025 Winter World University Games
21st-century Italian sportswomen