“It’s not a break that I needed in such an important time of the season but I’m already going to start physical therapy in the coming hours, with the aim of trying to defend the Olympic title in the event that I love most.” –Sofia Goggia
Reigning Olympic downhill gold medalist skier Sofia Goggia took a nasty spill at a World Cup super-G event in Cortina d’Ampezzo and her quest to defend her title is Beijing is in doubt. NBC Sports reports Goggia sprained her left knee, partially tore a cruciate ligament and suffered a minor fracture of the fibula bone in her leg (plus some tendon damage) when she did the splits at high speed then tumbled down the mountain.
She now has just a few weeks to rehab before competing in Beijing where she has been selected to carry the flag for Italy. The downhill event is scheduled to start February 15th but she will need to enter at least one of the training days scheduled February 12-14.
Really hoping Goggia can overcome her injuries to defend her crown but its crunch time and this was a serious crash.
Sofia Goggia won 8 of her last 9 downhills and, up until this morning, was probably the biggest Olympic gold-medal favorite in Alpine skiing. Now she has to come back from this crash, and a litany of leg injuries, in three weeks for the Olympic downhill. https://t.co/Atn4Tl9dtA pic.twitter.com/3EfatEa96u
— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) January 23, 2022