Raffaella Brutto, the veteran of blue snowboard cross, retires
Raffaella Brutto, the veteran of blue snowboard cross, retires
With a long post on Instagram yesterday Raffaella Brutto, an icon of Italian snowboard cross, announced her retirement from competitive activity. Born in Genoa on January 10, 1988 but transplanted to Valle d’Aosta, Raffy, as everyone calls her, until 2004 next to the board on the snow also practiced artistic roller skating, with excellent results at the European level. Then she chose snowboarding, in particular the spectacular specialty of XC.
She made her debut in the World Cup on January 5, 2006 in Bad Gastein and in over 15 years of her career she has won three podiums, one second and two third places, between 2012 and 2020, participated in three editions of the Olympic Games and nine of the World Championships, won seven European Cup competitions and six Italian titles, but she has also collected an impressive series of injuries, which have prevented her from having more consistent results and which would have knocked anyone out but her.
She also paved the way for the next generation of champions, most obviously 2018 Olympic gold medalist Michela Moioli, with whom she won two World Cup races in pairs in Montafon on December 8, 2013 and in Veysonnaz on March 28, 2017, but also Sofia Belingheri and Francesca Gallina. Now, at 35, Raffaella can finally devote herself fully to her little Estelle, who gave birth on February 26 last year.
