MILAN, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Arianna Fontana said she had a "bitter taste in her mouth" after missing out on the chance to become Italy's most decorated Olympian when she finished only fourth in the short track women's 1,000 metres on Monday.
Fontana, who has won a gold and a silver at the Milano Cortina Games , is tied with fencer Edoardo Mangiarotti, who won 13 medals between 1936 and 1960.
The Italian felt that she had been barged by Chinese skater Gong Li during the final won by Dutchwoman Xandra Velzeboer.
"It makes me angry," she told reporters.
"I’m disappointed because she threw away my race and didn’t really give me the chance to fight for the podium," Fontana added.
"You’re left with that bitter taste in your mouth."
Fontana, 35, has another chance to break the record on Wednesday in the relay when Italy face South Korea, Canada and the Netherlands.
"I’ll try to turn this anger into extra fuel to add to the fire," she said.
Fontana said she would not allow the quest for the 14th medal to distract her.
"You can’t think about the medal or the result — otherwise they will never come,” she said.
She made her Olympic debut when Italy hosted the 2006 Games in Turin, picking up the first medal of her glittering career there in the women's relay.
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro and Francesca Landini, Writing by Keith Weir, editing by Ed Osmond)
