Milan Cortina 2026, Federica Brignone warns everyone about her comeback

Patience and determination are needed: Federica Brignone, the day after receiving the Tricolor from the hands of President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale, spoke about her recovery after the serious knee injury that kept her down for months. Stopped by reporters at the Coni Institute of Sports Medicine and Science, the skier from Valle d’Aosta took stock of her situation and her physical condition in view of the Olympics. “I feel good, I want to start training on skis”.

“I want to try and see how it goes on a track. We are going step by step, there&#8217s little time but I&#8217m quite positive and the sensations on skis are quite good – l’Azzurra got hurt at the Absolutes last April, getting a fracture in the tibial plateau and the head of the fibula of the left leg -. It&#8217s clear, I have to measure myself in the things I have to do: one thing is skiing, another skiing to go fast in a track, in a certain type of conditions. All these things I have not done yet”.

Brignone recalled with joy his day as flag bearer at the Quirinale: “Receiving the Tricolor from President Mattarella was a dream. I fulfilled one of the dreams of my career. To be chosen as the flag bearer for my nation is something special, a privilege. Carrying the flag at the opening ceremony will be the’greatest emotion” said the Milan Cortina 2026 standard bearer. “This will be my fifth Olympics so this is the fifth time I will be doing the Protocol visits. I am happy because here we are able to do so many visits in one day that I never do”.

The ‘Tiger of La Salle,’ multiple Olympic medalist in alpine skiing at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, and the first ever Azzurra to win the Crystal Ball, will parade in Cortina together with Amos Mosaner, Olympic curling champion in Beijing 2022 and world champion in mixed doubles, and now the first from Trentino to become an Azzurro standard bearer.

Federica Brignone has won 37 World Cup races in alpine skiing: she is the most successful Italian skier ever. Two overall World Cups won in her career.