Ski comeback: A junior world champion is back

Sophie Mathiou has experienced a lot in her career. The 21-year-old completely unexpectedly won the Junior World Slalom Championships in 2021 and was subsequently promoted to Italy's World Cup team. However, the first season in the premier ski class went without a single appearance in the second round. Mathiou then took a step back and wanted to recommend himself for the World Cup again via the European Cup. In December of last year, however, a serious injury put a stop to her plans. Diagnosis: Cruciate ligament and meniscus tear. “I never thought this could happen to me, and yet here I am,” said the athlete from the Aosta Valley at the time. After seven months of rehabilitation, Mathiou announced this week Neveitalia the good news: “I’m extremely happy that I made my first turns again in Cervinia after more than six months,” she says. It felt a bit strange because you were doing certain movements that you hadn't done in a long time. “But they are movements that you cannot forget. It just takes some time to get used to it.” Rehab at Juventus In order to best prepare for her skiing comeback, Mathiou completed her rehabilitation at J Medical, the center of the Juventus football club. “I think I have had an excellent rehabilitation. My knee never swelled and didn’t cause any problems on snow,” says Mathiou with satisfaction. Due to the rehab going well, the Italian will also travel to Ushuaia (Argentina) in the summer to complete the preparation with her teammates. She then wants to get closer to her best form without any pressure to succeed: “I will compete in FIS races at the beginning and then slowly approach the European Cup. My goal is to get back to my old strength in both slalom and giant slalom.”

Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Hockey

Tennis

Winter sports

Learn More

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Ski comeback: A junior world champion is back

A serious injury put her out of action for six months at the end of last year. Now a former junior world champion in slalom has returned to snow.

Comments (0)