Happy Sofia Goggia makes successful comeback in downhill practice: "I was not afraid at all"
The Olympic downhill champion had a solid run on the first training session at Beijing 2022: "I'm really happy to be at the Games, so let's play!"
Alpine Skiing
Sofia Goggia has passed the test and she's ready to race at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
After skipping the super G on Friday, the reigning Olympic champion took part in the first downhill practice on Saturday (12 February), the first time the Italian skier had participated in an official alpine event since the crash and knee injury she suffered on 23 January in Cortina,
Goggia had solid run, clocking the 12th fastest time on 'The Ice Rock' course, and looked visibly happy, and almost moved to tears, after crossing the finish line:
"I am glad I could ski well today, and I am glad I could be at the start gate because it wasn't guaranteed at all after what occurred in Cortina around 15 days ago," she said.
"I'm really happy to be here, I'm happy to be at the Games, so let's play!"
"For me, Olympic Games are everything, the place that you want to be to achieve your childhood dream. There is no place I’d rather be than here. I don’t care about my condition." - Sofia Goggia
The 29-year-old talked through the emotional rollercoaster that took her to Beijing:
"Today, luckily, I was pretty much stable, even though yesterday I thought maybe I was going to be very fearful today, instead I was pretty much confident, I had clear in my mind all the things I had to do. So basically I was not afraid at all, I was focused on the things I had to do in my run and I think I made it as the coaches asked me to.
"So it's good, of course it was a really tough period to get here, to recover so fast, this is why my condition is still not that optimal but I have to deal with that, it's not a problem, unless it is in your mind."
Goggia shared how she felt during her practice run: "I was calm at the start, I wanted to test my knee and how it reacted on this track."
She then continued: "It was important to feel I could stand well on my skis and I also could confidently face the turns. I wasn't afraid at all, I'm happy I'm just a second slower than the best." (Editor's note: In the end she finished 1.55 seconds behind Priska Nufer's best mark).
"I lost speed and slowed down in some parts and I made some small mistakes, but I feel good, considering that I didn't even test the track the other day. I just wish I had a stronger left leg...(laughs)."
Asked about her fitness level out of 10, the PyeongChang 2018 gold medallist said:
"Ten is fit? 5.5. With one day of crutches, you lose one week of training. I put off the crutches three days after (the injury). Usually it’s 10 days. But I had only 10 days to do everything.
"My strength point is the strength in my muscles, in my legs, this is why I can make tiger lines during the season. And now I don’t have it. I will give all of what I have. I (will) keep working. The strength is going to be back, hopefully in three days."
"Maybe a little pain, somewhere, sometimes, not relief after 10 days, I have to deal with this." Sofia Goggia on her fitness
Now the Italian will have two more tests to improve her form:
"I really need to have another solid downhill, there are still two more training runs before the race, so I'm glad they are three, hopefully we're going to do them all. We'll see."
The women's downhill is scheduled on Tuesday 15 February at 11:00 local time (14:00 CET, 19:00 PST on Monday).