Cappellini was born 19 February 1987 in Como, Italy.[1] She is a member of the Polizia Penitenziaria's sports group, the Fiamme Azzurre.[2] She has expressed interest in studying physiotherapy after her skating career is over.[3]
In August 2014, it was announced that she was engaged to pair skater Ondřej Hotárek.[4] The couple married on June 20, 2015, in Brescia, Italy.[5] Their daughter Diana was born on July 2, 2021.[6]
Early career
Cappellini started skating at the age of three and switched to ice dance when she was 11 or 12.[7][8] She skated with Federico Bassi, Luca Lombardi,[9] and Matteo Zanni.[10] She and Zanni placed fifth at the 2004 World Junior Championships. The next season, they won the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final but had to withdraw from the 2005 Junior Worlds after the original dance due to Zanni's food poisoning.[11] Their partnership ended after his father was severely injured in a car accident and he decided to stop competing.[11][12]
Partnership with Lanotte
2005–06 to 2008–09
Cappellini was partnered with Lanotte in May 2005 by the Italian skating federation.[11][12] Following a strong season together on the junior circuit, Cappellini/Lanotte made their senior debut in 2006–07. They finished 8th at their first Europeans. Before their next event, Worlds, Cappellini suffered a torn labrum in her left shoulder.[7] In the free dance at Worlds, they fell during a lift and finished 13th.[7]
In 2007–08, Cappellini/Lanotte won their first Grand Prix medal, a silver at Skate Canada, moved up to seventh at Europeans, and finished in the top ten at Worlds.
In 2008–09, Cappellini/Lanotte did not medal in either of their Grand Prix appearances, but moved up to 5th at Europeans and were again tenth at Worlds. In the off-season, they decided to change coaches, and moved to Lyon, France, to train with Muriel Boucher-Zazoui and Romain Haguenauer.
2009–10 season
Cappellini/Lanotte had a strong start in 2009–10, winning silver medals at the Cup of Russia and Skate America and qualifying for their first Grand Prix Final, where they finished fifth. They then placed sixth at the European Championships, and finished outside the top ten at their first Olympics. They then finished 11th at the 2010 World Championships; in the free dance, the two collided during the twizzle sequence, causing Cappellini to fall, and received low levels on several elements.[13]
2010–11
Cappellini/Lanotte began the 2010–11 season at the Nebelhorn Trophy. They were first in the short dance and fourth in the free dance, finishing in second place overall.[14] They then placed fifth at the 2010 NHK Trophy, after which they decided to leave coach Muriel Zazoui and move back to Milan to train with Paola Mezzadri.[15] They withdrew from 2010 Skate America in order to prepare a new free dance. Cappellini/Lanotte later missed Italian nationals and the European Championships because Lanotte had a knee injury. In 2011, they began splitting their time between Milan and Nikolai Morozov in Novogorsk, Russia. They returned to competition at the Mont Blanc Trophy, which they won. They finished 8th at the 2011 World Championships.
In June 2012, Cappellini/Lanotte began training with Igor Shpilband in Novi, Michigan.[16][3] Paola Mezzadri in Milan remained their primary coach, while Novi became their second training base.[16][2] Cappellini sprained her left shoulder during the summer.[17] In July, they decided to change their planned free dance.[18]
In the 2013–14 season, Cappellini/Lanotte were awarded another pair of silver medals on the Grand Prix series. They placed sixth at the Grand Prix Final before winning gold at the 2014 European Championships in Budapest. The duo finished sixth at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Cappellini/Lanotte ended their season at the 2014 World Championships in Saitama, Japan. Ranked first in the short dance and fourth in the free dance, they ended the competition in first overall, 0.02 of a point ahead of Canada's Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje and 0.06 ahead of France's Nathalie Pechalat / Fabian Bourzat. They became the second Italian ice dancers to win the World title.
Cappellini/Lanotte began their 2016–17 season by winning the CS Nebelhorn Trophy. Their Grand Prix assignments were Skate Canada and the NHK Trophy. They finished fourth at Skate Canada and won the bronze medal at NHK behind Papadakis/Cizeron.
At the 2018 European Championships, Cappellini/Lanotte finished fourth overall after winning bronze in the short dance and placing fifth in the free dance.
At the 2018 Winter Olympics, Cappellini/Lanotte competed in the team event where Team Italy finished fourth behind Team USA. In the individual event, Cappellini/Lanotte placed fifth in the short dance and sixth in the free dance to give them a sixth-place finish overall.
Cappellini/Lanotte closed their season with a fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Championships.
Post-competitive career
Following her competitive career, Cappellini began working as a figure skating choreographer. She has choreographed programs for:
^"Annika HOCKE / Robert KUNKEL: 2022/2023". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 14 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA: 2020/201". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Anna VALESI / Manuel PIAZZA". International Skating Union. International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 25 November 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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