Un third place tied for Sofia Goggia. And a bad fall for Federica Brignone, who still finished the race. It is the Italian “spoil” of the first downhill race of Women’s Ski World Cup underway in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Thanks to the very fast track of the Olympia delle Tofane, which caused 6 falls, the most serious being that of the American Mikaela Shriffin limped out and was taken away by air ambulance.
Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone, the first immediate comments
«I’m in one piece, I made a mistake where everything went well in the test. I’m angry with myself, not only do I throw away a race but I also risk hurting myself”, commented Federica Brignone. The Austrian Stephanie Venier and the Swiss Lara Gut reached the top podium. «Very compact, hard, aggressive surface, it will be the classic Cortina descent», Sofia Goggia said before the challenge. While waiting for the second test tomorrow, here is an identikit of the two record-breaking downhill skiers, the most successful Italian skiers to date.
Sofia Goggia: «I want to win as much as possible, I’ll think about my children in 4 years»
“From Bergamo with some pair of skis, a big rolling R and a strong will to leave a mark”: it looks like this Sofia Goggia to her 552,000 followers on Instagram, putting the emphasis on the unmistakable flat R and the desire to leave a mark. TO 32 years oldhas certainly already left some milestones in the history of skiing: 4 world cups, an Olympic gold in Pyeongchang 2018 and a silver in Beijing 2022. With this third place ex aequo in Cortina he achieved his 53rd podium.
«Never had a social life»
Not bad for a former pestiferous child who ran away from home (once from Bergamo they found her in Foppolo), restless “and a bit bullied”, always with her thoughts fixed on the snow, on speed, on thrills. “Never had a social life,” Sofia declared. «No adolescence, no parties, always everything to have a life on skis». To the Spanish newspaper Brand he confessed: «I demand a lot from myself: I’ve never been an exceptional skier, but I’ve worked a lot in that direction. Since a long time I’m going to a specialist in emotion management for some time».
«I want to try to win as much as possible»
She is always very tight-lipped about her private life: when they attributed a flirtation to her with the host Massimo Giletti (they were seen together in the swimming pool of a Roman hotel this summer, complete with photos published in weekly Who) was careful, however, to deny it. “I’m in that phase where everyone gets married and has children, but I still have my skis on my feet,” she said. She says she won’t think about motherhood until 4 years from now. «I want to try to win as much as possible». Meanwhile, as soon as she is free, she returns to Lenna’s mountain pasture to visit Ambrosia and Isère, the two cows won after a race in Val d’Isère.
Sofia Goggia and Federica Brignone last December 9th in St Moritz, Switzerland. (Photo by Alain Grosclaude/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)
Federica Brignone: «Not exploiting my talent would have been a crime»
Born in Milan but raised in La Salle, in Val d’Aosta, born in 1990, Federica Brignone is part of a ski family: father Daniele is an instructor, mother Maria Rosa Quario is a former World Cup athlete, brother Davide is her personal coach. Record-woman like her colleague Sofia Goggia, she won 3 Olympic medals, a general world cup and 3 specialty medals. Of Sofia he said: «She and I are not friends, but the rivalry has been exaggerated by the media. We are two great athletes who have achieved an incredible result.”
«It’s difficult to find a sport that I haven’t tried at least once»
Crazy about aubergine parmigiana, she graduated from linguistic high school, listen Tracy Chapman hey Dire StraitsAnd he doesn’t just ski but surfs, climbs, tennis, golf, trekking, canoeing. «It’s difficult to find a sport that I haven’t tried at least once» he writes on his personal website federicabrignone.com.
«I started skiing when I was 1 and a half years old»
«I started skiing when I was 1 and a half years old, skipping around on a pair of plastic skis wherever it happened, even in Milan on the carpets of our apartment. At 2 years old, in a little street behind my grandparents’ house in Courmayeur, I was laughing like crazy, diving and hitting the snow wall at the end of the slope”, says Federica. «When I was little I thought that winning the World Cup was a game, I couldn’t understand how arduous the path would be» she says. And she adds: «My luck is having talent, brains, physique and will. Not taking advantage of all this goodness would have been a crime.”
«Sport is a priority for me now»
Federico Brignone has come out very openly about his private life: «I spent 8 years with a French skier, Nicolas Raffort. Today I hang out with Davide, a boy from here, from the town. He understands that sport is the priority for me now: I don’t skip training for a romantic getaway, but if I can do both things and give Davide the right attention, so be it.” Still uncertain about the future, she declared that she doesn’t know if he will participate in the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. “Let’s talk again in 2025.”
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