Sofia Goggia Raises the Bar: A Message to Her Rivals
Sofia Goggia is getting serious: the Italian skier trained in Sölden, testing her condition after a long hiatus caused by the virus that forced her to interrupt her training in Argentina. For the first time in a while, the Italian skier pushed herself, skiing a few Super-G runs on the Rettenbach course alongside some teammates to see how she felt.
The Olympic champion, who posted the video on Instagram with Lucio Battisti’s “Il mio canto libero” playing in the background, is aiming to compete in the North American leg of the season in Killington, where the giant slalom is scheduled for November 28. Her real goal, however, is the downhill races in Beaver Creek, scheduled for December 11 and 12.
Her road to recovery has been long and complicated. Since early September, Goggia has had to deal with two viral infections, which were only detected after a series of tests upon her return to Italy from Argentina, causing her to miss over three weeks of training on the snow. She resumed training in early October in Favignana, where she began working again with her longtime coach Matteo Artina, in what she herself described as “a first glimpse of training after a month of inactivity.” Her return to the slopes then took place on the Stelvio Glacier: “I put my skis back on and felt pure joy. It was a wonderful feeling to return to doing what I love most.”
For this very reason, the Italian skier had already decided to skip the season-opening giant slalom in Sölden, choosing instead to continue her training in Copper Mountain, in the United States. Her schedule calls for a return to competition in Killington, followed by her first downhill race of the season on December 11 in Beaver Creek. “I’m on the mend; I’ll have to keep taking some medication, but I’m on the right track. The goal is to make it through the North American tour feeling well,” she explained to *La Gazzetta dello Sport*, admitting that she still feels fatigued, which forces her to carefully pace herself.
