Sofia Goggia still eyes Beijing 2022 participation despite Super G crash in Cortina

Sofia Goggia suffered a knee injury in the Cortina d'Ampezzo Super G on Sunday (23 January), but remains determined to defend her Olympic downhill title at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

A day after she won the downhill on the Olympia delle Tofane course, the Italian lost control midway through her run and did the splits, flipping up and careening down the ice as spectators watched on with heads in their hands.

Signs were initially good as Goggia stood and skied away, but she had a worried look on her face and was pictured holding her left knee.

She later left the athletes' tent limping and was helped by Italian team staff members before travelling straight to Milan for a scan at the La Madonnina clinic to find out the extent of the damage.

Italian Ski Federation (FISI) press officials later reported that Goggia suffered "a strain of the left knee", "a partial tear" of the cruciate ligament (which the skier already damaged in 2013), and "a small fibula fracture".

The FISI medical commission led by doctor Andrea Panzeri also found some "muscle-tendon strain" in the knee.

The statement says the 29-year-old will begin her rehab on Monday with the aim of lining up for Olympic downhill race on 15 February.

Goggia said, "It's a shame that this injury comes in a very important moment of the season, but in the next few hours I'll start the physio treatment so I can try to defend my title in the discipline I love the most."

One year ago, she was forced to miss her home World Championships at Cortina after a crash in Germany.

It was a mixed day for the Italian ski team on the 'Pearl of the Dolomites' with Elena Curtoni claiming her first-ever Super G World Cup victory with a blazing 1:20.98 run, 0.09 faster than Austria's Tamara Tippler.

Swiss all-rounder Michelle Gisin completed the podium, 0.24 off the pace.

But the celebrations were tempered in the Italian Alps as Goggia tumbled off the course just 11 days from the beginning of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

"I immediately went to check Sofia," Curtoni said.

"It's a bittersweet day for me, I really hope it's nothing too serious for her. As for my race, I'm obviously satisfied although I have made a mistake in the last critical section."

Overall World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin finished 16th, just over a second off the pace, but extended her lead over defending champion Petra Vlhova who did not race on Sunday.