Two victories in two days: this is it brace di Sofia Goggia made on March 4th and 5th in Korea. The Asian leg of the Ski World Cup, and Italy has made full spoils. Now the athletes will move to the United States where the last races of the event will be held. But the spotlight of Italian sport is all on the young 24-year-old from Bergamo, now considered among the strongest in the world.
Whizzing on the snow
After having trodden the lower steps of the podium several times since the beginning of the competition, Sofia Goggia managed to win the deserved triumph. The Asian stage gave the Italian athlete joy, indeed the greatest joys of his career. First place in the downhill of 4 March, with the legend of alpine skiing behind him: Lindsey Vonn. The blue finished in 1'38: 800, trailing the American by just 7 cents. A blink of an eye, but at these levels more than enough to make the difference between a first and a second place. The top ten also saw eighth place for sniff and the tenth for the Stuffers.
The day after our Sofia, with still the happiness in her body for the success in the downhill, repeated in supergiant. Always with the Vonn behind him, always for the blink of an eye. The Bergamo rider in fact finished in 1'20: 350 with an advantage of 4 cents over the American. Fourth place instead for the Brignone, while Curtoni e sniff they finished in tenth and eleventh place respectively.
Sofia Goggia: tenacity and determination
The story of Sofia Goggia has seen her fall numerous times, but the young blue has always stood up showing great will.
At the age of 15, to be precise on November 22, 2007, he made his debut on the circuit FIS winning a month later in the supergiant category. In 2008 he made his debut in the European Cup.
In the following season he collects several successes, capturing the attention of insiders. A pure talent, a true promise of Italian sport, but bad luck is just around the corner. During the giant of Kvitfjell, Goggia in fact suffered a serious knee injury. The crack forces it to a long stop, thus holding back its growth. But in the 2011/2012 season he returned to the track, and on 28 December 2011 he made his debut in the World Cup. Two years of great success followed until the sports drama of 7 December 2013: injury to the ligaments of the cruciate. Operation and another long stop, another hard blow for Sofia.
Returning to the current season in 2014/2015, Sofia Goggia participates in the World Cup finishing in 30th place in the supergiant, and in 47th place in the downhill. The injury seems like just a bad memory, but during a training session in January 2015 she feels pain again. There is fear of a post-surgery relapse, but this time it is a cyst always diagnosed in that damn knee. A new operation follows with the obligation to stop for another year. It seems like hell, but this time too the Bergamo rider gets up again. Rehabilitation, a bit of running in and you are back stronger than before. And the victories of the past few days only confirm the great talent of the Italian athlete.