Sofia Goggia works and suffers for the comeback. © Social Media

Goggia: “I cried under my glasses”

Sofia Goggia has been back on the slopes for over a month and has already completed three more days of skiing this week, always on the slopes of the Stelvio Pass. In an interview, she spoke about the difficult ordeal of her comeback.

July 21, 2024

From: do

Five and a half months after her serious training accident in Ponte di Legno 31-year-old Sofia Goggia said in an interview with Corriere della Sera admitted that her physical condition after the complicated fracture in her right leg is anything but completely resolved or easy to manage. Quite the opposite.

Goggia shared that her shinbone has not healed and may continue to cause problems. "I need to understand how to relieve the pain when I put on the ski boot," she explained. "The damaged bones can currently only withstand light training sessions. I'm not complaining, but this injury is different from the previous ones, the pain is there."

Goggia has already won the downhill globe four times. © ANSA / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT

The medical opinion of Dr. Andrea Panzeri, who is by her side during every major recovery, is crucial. "The doctors said I should start skiing again after six months. According to Dr. Panzeri, the pain will not go away and I have to learn to deal with it. I work out in the gym and do athletics, but I can't even walk properly yet."

Everything for the 2026 Olympics

Together with head coach Rulfi, she has also considered the worst-case scenario: skipping the 2024/25 season, removing the plates in November and working towards the 2026 Olympics. "That's a possibility that has to be considered. But if I find the right combination of boot and ski boot, things will get better. That's my wish, even if I have to admit that I cried under my goggles during the first few turns."

“The recovery is the hardest I have ever experienced.” Sofia Goggia

The memory of what happened at that training session in Ponte di Legno on February 5 is still bitter: "It is the worst injury you can imagine, given the course of events and the time in my career. And the recovery is the hardest I have ever experienced. I had a difficult phase in which I thought I would never be able to ski at a high level again."