The Italian ski racers have already won two world championship titles. Will Sofia Goggia finish third in the downhill?
Italy’s “speed queen” Sofia Goggia has already achieved 21 World Cup victories, plus 24 podium finishes. Along with the dominator Mikaela Shiffrin and Lara Gut-Behrami, she is the defining ski racer of the late 2010s and early 2020s.
Unlike the two, however, Goggia mainly dominates the downhill. She triumphed in the overall discipline rankings in the World Cup three times, and she is also the 2018 Olympic champion. The realization of Goggia’s dream should now follow on Saturday (02/11/2023, 11 a.m. in the sports show live ticker with videos) at the 2023 World Ski Championships in Courchevel/Méribel on the Roc de Fer.
Weidle wants to learn from Goggia’s uncompromising nature
That’s why you can’t get past her when it comes to favorites. And Italy’s team in particular has been convincing on the mountain in Méribel so far, Federica Brignone’s combination gold was followed by Marta Bassino’s super-G gold. What else speaks for Goggia: Unlike the previous competitions, speed will be much more important in the downhill – her feel-good area.
No one drives down with so much risk. “The uncompromising attitude that she has is impressive”said something of Germany’s strongest downhill skier Kira Weidle, who also dreams of the big coup after winning the World Cup in 2021. “She doesn’t actually ski any better now.”
Even a broken hand doesn’t stop Goggia – in Méribel in top form downhill
But Goggia’s mercilessness regularly poses problems for the competition. Italy’s ski racer secured four downhill victories in this World Cup season – and did not let a broken hand in St. Moritz stop her. Goggia once again dominates the discipline of the world’s fastest women.
On the Roc de Fer, the 30-year-old won the first downhill training on Tuesday and the final one on Friday. Before the decision on Saturday she was in top form, the Austrian Mirjam Puchner and the surprising Super-G bronze medalist Kajsa Vickhoff Lie came closest to her with a gap of almost half a second. Goggia is close to realizing her dream of World Cup gold.