Sofia Goggia Won’t Let Anyone Get a Word In on One Topic: Online Debate

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Sofia Goggia shared her perspective on the sensitive topic of motherhood: “You don’t necessarily have to get married and have children to feel fulfilled in life. That’s a bigoted way of thinking. Personal fulfillment comes from what people want to achieve in their own lives,” said the Italian speed skiing champion, whose remarks sparked a debate on social media.

“There are women who want to become mothers, who have played with Barbie families since they were little girls, wearing wedding dresses, and there are perhaps women who have a different kind of fulfillment in mind. What’s right for me isn’t necessarily right for others,” continued the downhill skier from Bergamo.

Sofia’s athletic career didn’t allow her to live a life like other girls: “No, because I was obsessed with skiing. And I think it also helped keep me out of trouble, given my somewhat spirited nature. Now I think I’m at a stage where I have far fewer years of my career ahead of me than I have behind me. I don’t think I’m a little girl anymore—I’ve become more of a woman—and I think I’m at a point in my life where I look back with pride on what I’ve done so far and where I know I can still enjoy a few more years on skis, physical condition permitting.”

She sees this sense of calm as an achievement: “Yes. Sometimes I am, sometimes less so, but that’s normal. All in all, let’s just say that’s how it is. When I was nine, I wrote an essay in school saying, ‘I want to win the Olympic downhill.’ At twenty-five, I did it.”