Sofia Goggia: "Gratitude in the heart, it is a miracle such a track"

Sofia Goggia was the best Italian skier in the first round of the Olympic downhill scheduled for Sunday on the Olympia slope of the Tofane in Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Italian champion, who recorded the eighth fastest time, did not push but checked the slope conditions, especially between the Scarpadon area and the Rumerlo meadows, picking herself up in the final. Goggia was followed in the order of arrival by Laura Pirovano, ninth at 1″24 from the U.S. Jacqueline Wiles, who set the best time record.

After the test l’Azzurra made these statements:“The snow is quite varied, but with all the snow it has done it was already a miracle to find it like this. I am very happy, because today I wanted to understand the waves, bumps and jumps. It was important to understand the approaches in certain spots. It is my heart run, intense and free: already the traverse at the start this year is difficult, at Duca d’Aosta there is a lot of jumping, there are bumps at Argano, between Scarpadon and Rumerlo”.

“I arrive in Cortina with gratitude in my heart: it happens to few athletes to be able to compete in an Olympics at home, it is a beautiful experience and a great emotion”, concluded Sofia. Good feelings also from Laura Pirovano: “The track is really nice, fun. The stop made it a bit slippery, but for the next days with the cold it can be even more beautiful. It’s my first Olympics so I try to enjoy it as much as possible. It is such a complete track and so unremarkable that every corner and every detail counts. There are a lot of bumps this year and you will have to be really careful everywhere. Fortunately, I tend to look at the glass half full and from Crans-Montana I took with me the feeling of the great performance I was doing”.

Federica Brignone, returning from a long injury, did not force but came close to entering the top ten: “I am happy. I made a few mistakes but the soft snow didn&#8217t give too many answers, but the slope is as always wonderful. I tried to manage the best I could, to be gentle. It went pretty well, I tried to do everything easy, without creating any additional problems for myself. In the last part I got up but in the middle section I tried to ski enough”.

“I completed the rehabilitation part, now I am working normally, I have to rest my leg. I still have to gain confidence, but the adrenaline of racing is what I missed the most and that helps a lot. For what happened to me it is already a miracle to be here”. All female skiers will be back on track Saturday for the’last run, scheduled at 11:30 a.m.

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