Italian exotic skier retires: “Insurmountable hurdles”

He fought for a long time, he believed in himself for a long time, but now Giordano Ronci has to raise the white flag and end his ski career at the age of 28. The slalom specialist has repeatedly struggled with injuries in recent years, which are now forcing him to give up.

Giordano Ronci is something of an exotic figure in the local ski panorama. He doesn't come from one of the typical winter sports resorts in northern Italy, but from the sunny capital of Rome, where many people only know the sport of skiing from hearsay. Despite all the adversities, the Italian went his own way and made it to the World Cup: Ronci was in the starting house of the premier class 22 times, but there was never enough points for him. In return, he was able to celebrate his personal moment of glory in the European Cup, the second highest racing series: in 2014, he took his first and only victory in Oberjoch, Bavaria. The body doesn't cooperate Ronci made his first turns on skis as a child on the Campo Staffi, a mountain almost 2000 meters high in the Apennines near Lazio. The young Roman was so impressed by this sport that he soon started racing for the first time. At the age of 20, he made it into the national team and repeatedly got a taste of the World Cup. However, the slalom specialist was already prone to injuries back then. Things have gotten worse in the last two years, his back in particular was causing him major problems, so he now took the bitter step of retiring from skiing.

Giordano Ronci has competed in 22 World Cup races in his career. © AFP / FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT

“Saying goodbye to something you love is never easy. But sometimes life presents you with insurmountable hurdles. For me, these hurdles are the numerous injuries,” begins Ronci’s long farewell message on his social media channels. “In the last two years of my career I fought – on the one hand for my health, on the other hand for the time lost. I experienced many difficult moments over the two years and often thought about what the right decision was. But deep down I knew: I don't feel ready to give up yet. I didn’t want to disappoint myself, but above all I didn’t want to disappoint those people who always believed in me.”

After the numerous setbacks, the time has now come to resign, says Ronci. “We will miss my slalom poles, but I am happy that I can start a new chapter in my life.”

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Italian exotic skier retires: “Insurmountable hurdles”

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