Sofia Goggia speaks of an inner conflict. © APA / EXPA/JOHANN GRODER

Goggia gives a deep insight: “I forgot about Sofia”

Sofia Goggia has experienced golden highs, but also pitch-black lows, throughout her career. Before the World Cup kickoff in Sölden, the ski superstar gave an emotional insight into her private life.

10 October 2025

From: never

Like so many athletes from the azure winter cosmos, Sofia Goggia is also facing a very special winter: the Olympic Games – at home. Seven years ago, she already climbed the highest of all peaks under the glow of the five iconic rings, and the Bergamo native crowned herself Olympic champion in the downhill race in Pyeongchang. However, a triumph at the Winter Games in her hometown of Cortina d'Ampezzo – that much is certain – would mean a little more to the 32-year-old. A year and a half ago, however, it was anything but certain that this dream could even become reality.

“I thought my career was over,” Goggia recalls in the nearly ten-minute documentary I'm Coming Home Red Bull recalled her serious training crash at the Ponte di Legno ski resort in February 2024 and the fractured tibia and fibula she sustained. "It was a time in my life when I felt particularly lonely. Also due to personal circumstances, I admit."

Goggia: A struggle with oneself

The following December, Goggia celebrated her comeback in the World Cup downhill at Beaver Creek, promptly landing on the podium. The road to victory, however, was anything but easy. "To get back on my feet, I had to throw myself into it," she explained. "And perhaps the hardest part wasn't the physical part, but the emotional one: dealing with my inner worries."

"But deep down, I had forgotten Sofia. The girl, the young woman I was before I became an athlete." Sofia Goggia

She herself ultimately fell short in her storm to the top of the skiing world. "Over the years, I realized that the ambition to be a successful athlete at the top had led me to pay attention to every detail of my athletic performance—but deep down, I had forgotten Sofia," Goggia noted. "The girl, the young woman I was even before I became an athlete."

From the peace on the mountain pasture back to the circus

The 26-time World Cup winner finally found herself again in the idyllic mountains of the Valle d'Aosta. "And one point on which my psychotherapist and I worked quite intensively was both rediscovering the joy of things and creating moments for herself," Goggia explained.

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"The moments when I felt most myself and truly happy were those I spent in my cabin in the Aosta Valley." For the Italian ski queen, "the most beautiful thing was always to wake up there, knowing I wasn't reachable—and perhaps having shared two or three days with a loved one."

“My life is very, very difficult at the moment”

Now, however, Goggia is back in the thick of the alpine skiing circus – with all its facets. "For me, this adrenaline rush is indescribable. When you cross the finish line and hear the people cheering, everyone wants something from you, and you feel the affection and are surrounded by their love – words fail me." However, her private life shouldn't be neglected. "But I think the happiest moments of my life were the ones when I loved the most and felt most loved by one person," says Goggia. Maintaining something like that, however, is enormously challenging – the flip side of the life of a star.

Sofia Goggia provided in-depth insight. © ANSA / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

"My life is very, very difficult at the moment, in the sense that I'm never truly home," Goggia offered. Between September and the end of March, she spends about 15 nights at home, and the summer is entirely dedicated to her preparation. She appreciates the world she's allowed to move in, but still. "For me, life as an athlete is a privilege," Goggia said. "Especially because it's a totally comprehensive life."

Goggia does not see her future in alpine skiing

The future plays a major role in her daily life, partly because of her ambivalence. "I know I'm closer to the end of my career than the beginning, but I want to remain competitive for a few more seasons," she emphasized. "But I hope I can ski as long as I want, as long as I'm happy. So I can imagine a few seasons like that." And after that? "We'll see what life brings. But it certainly won't have anything to do with the skiing world. I'm not going to be a coach—I'm a terrible ski instructor."