Elisa Platino is going through a turbulent time. © private

South Tyrolean fights for her skiing career: “Who will help me?”

First the epidemic season, then her expulsion from the national team, and now an uncertain future: Elisa Platino, South Tyrol's best giant slalom skier, is currently going through a turbulent time. She talked to us about it.

June 15, 2025

From: det

It's astonishing, almost brutal, how quickly things can change in skiing. One year ago – in June 2024 – Elisa Platino from Obermais could look back on by far the best season of her life. The South Tyrolean giant slalom specialist not only achieved her best World Cup result (2023th place) in the 24/15 winter season, but also demonstrated consistency with seven points finishes. The breakthrough seemed to have finally arrived, and the top 10 was only a matter of time.

Today, twelve months later, the world looks completely different. The Merano native has endured a truly disastrous season, failing to score a single World Cup point and coming close to despair several times. "I had burnout," the 26-year-old analyzes. "I trained and worked harder than ever before, but it backfired. My body and my nervous system were at their limits; I felt like I'd been slowed down and couldn't perform to my full potential," says Platino.

Elisa Platino has had a very difficult winter.

In mid-May, after the most difficult winter of her life, the next blow came when Platino learned she had been dropped from the national team. "No one contacted me, neither a coach nor a manager. I found out about it on Facebook. That was disappointing," Platino laments the manner of her ousting.

“I’ve been feeling totally overwhelmed for weeks.” Elisa Platinum

So what now? It was immediately clear to Platino: "Giving up is not an option! I want to keep going, I want to ski the way I can again, and I want to get back to the World Cup, because that's where I belong." However, the Merano native makes no secret of the fact that she's reached her limits, especially mentally, in recent weeks. "Suddenly I found myself on my own and now I have to take care of everything from A to Z. I've felt completely overwhelmed for weeks and sometimes have three nervous breakdowns a day," says Platino.

Up to 50.000 euros for one ski season

Platino feels immense gratitude for her Carabinieri sports group, which is supporting her during these difficult times. Nevertheless, creating training plans, booking accommodation, reserving slopes, and preparing skis – these are just some of the tasks facing the South Tyrolean as an athlete without a team.

The biggest hurdle, however, is the financial aspect. "A season like this will cost me between 40.000 and 50.000 euros. Today, as ever, I honestly don't know where I'm going to get the money from. Finding sponsors is difficult because there's hardly any interest anymore. I'm glad that my main sponsor, Nils, always supports me. But yes, I literally have to go begging for help now."

Elisa Platino is fighting for her skiing career.

Specifically, this means that Platino will soon launch a crowdfunding campaign to save her skiing career. "I'm dependent on this help and hope something comes of it. Otherwise, it will be difficult."

Private trainer and hope for a fair chance

But even though Elisa Platino is currently going through a stormy time, even though she is encountering enormous hurdles, the giant slalom skier says: "The only time I give up is when the post office closes!" And that is why she wants to put everything on the line next winter and has recently even hired Patrick Renner, a private South Tyrolean ski coach, to get her back on track.

Whether and when she will compete in the World Cup winter is beyond the control of the Merano native. "In Italy, there are no qualifying days like in Austria and Switzerland, for example. Here, the coaches always decide who competes. I hope I get a fair chance," says Platino, who, despite all the adversity, hasn't given up on one dream: "I want to compete for the Olympic Games."