Skicross star makes a touching gesture.

For deceased girlfriend: Ski hero with a touching gesture

An emotional story unfolded around an Italian ski cross star at the Winter Olympics.

February 21, 2026

From: det

It was a dark day in Italian sporting history. On October 28, 2024, Matilde Lorenzi, a talented Italian skier, suffered a serious fall during training. The young athlete sustained such severe injuries that she lost her life in the hospital a few hours later at the age of only 19. The shock was immense in Italy and far beyond.

On that day, the world lost not only a promising skiing talent, but also a wonderful person, a cheerful soul, a daughter, a sister, a friend. And last but not least, Lorenzi was also someone's great love. The young skier was in a relationship with Federico Tomasoni, now 28 years old. This Tomasoni is one of Italy's best ski cross athletes and sensationally won the silver medal at the Olympics on Saturday. But he also caused quite a stir with a touching gesture.

Tomasoni with the sun symbol on his helmet.

When Tomasoni entered the Olympic ski cross competition on Saturday, he did so wearing a helmet bearing a special symbol: a radiant sun – the symbol of the foundation. Matildina4Safety. This initiative was launched by Lorenzi's family in memory of their deceased daughter and is intended to improve safety on the ski slopes.

"For the first few months after her death, I lived in complete confusion; I dreamed of her every night," Tomasoni had explained in the lead-up to the Winter Games. Now, in a touching way, his great love did compete at the Olympics after all – and was crowned with a sensational silver medal.