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Dominated the Downhill World Cup so far: Sofia Goggia

Photo: Pierre Teyssot / Action Plus / IMAGO

The Italian Olympic champion Sofia Goggia apparently has to end her season early after a serious fall in training. The 31-year-old was taken to hospital by helicopter with suspected fractures of her tibia and fibula, Italian media reported. The Italian Ski Federation confirmed the incident but has not yet announced a diagnosis.

The necessary investigations will be carried out in the coming hours, it said. The accident occurred on Monday morning on the Casola nera slope in Ponte di Legno in the province of Brescia, where Goggia has often prepared for races.

The four-time winner of the Downhill World Cup is leading the overall ranking in the queen discipline again this winter. She won one of the five races so far and was on the podium three more times. She is fourth in the Super-G ranking and fifth in the overall ranking.

For Goggia it is the next chapter in her long injury history:

  • In 2021 she suffered a fracture of the tibial plateau in her right knee and missed her home World Championships as a medal candidate.

  • In 2022 she fell during the Super-G in Cortina d'Ampezzo and suffered several injuries to her left knee and leg.

  • She got fit again so quickly that 23 days later she won the silver medal in the downhill at the Beijing Olympics. Four years earlier she had already won the gold medal in Pyeongchang.

  • In 2023 she won the downhill race in St. Moritz, Switzerland, one day after breaking two fingers in her left hand.

Serious injuries are part of everyday life this season

Goggia's expected loss would be Alpine skiing's next in an injury-hit season. Superstar Mikaela Shiffrin is currently taking a break after a serious fall in Cortina d'Ampezzo. The season of Olympic champions Petra Vlhová and Corinne Suter ended prematurely after torn cruciate ligaments.

The men also suffered some prominent injuries. Former overall World Cup winner Aleksander Aamodt Kilde had to cut short his season with serious injuries, as did the highly decorated Alexis Pinturault and Marco Schwarz.

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