Sofia Goggia: How I made Lindsey Vonn cry after my silver at Beijing 2022
The Italian skier revealed that she video called the American straight after the downhill race: "She sent me a picture of her while she was in tears after my run," Goggia said.
Alpine Skiing
Sofia Goggia and Lindsey Vonn have been sharing a special connection for years.
The two alpine skiing stars were on the same podium in the PyeongChang 2018 downhill and the American has always been a big supporter of 'Sofi' - as she calls her friend - since her retirement in 2019.
Vonn, who had a career marred by many serious injuries, had revealed that she'd been helping the Italian during her recovery following a crash in the Cortina super G that put in danger her participation at Beijing 2022.
In the end, Goggia made it to the start gate on Wednesday (15 February) and came close to successfully defending her Olympic downhill title, missing out on gold by just 0.16 seconds.
"We kept in touch in the last few days. We have been talking a little bit about my situation, and today she was the first person that I video called during the award ceremony," said the 29-year-old after earning silver in Yanqing.
"She sent me a picture of her while she was in tears after my run. And I'm glad we can still keep in touch, we still text sometimes. She has been my idol and she still is. This is why I'm also reading her new book: she is an example not just on skis, but especially for the human being that she is."
Vonn also shared with Goggia that she knows how it feels when you come close to gold, but she complimented her for the "human and sporting achievement."
Goggia: There's still a downhill globe to win
Goggia will now focus on the remainder of the World Cup season, but first she will take some days off.
"Those 0.16 seconds that I got today, those are my best motivation. I'm flying home in two days, then I'm going to to stay quiet at home three days because in these 23 last days, it's been crazy, the amount of energy that I have spent to recover and to handle everything on skis," the two-time Olympic medallist said on Wednesday (15 February).
"So (I'll have) a little bit of rest, then for sure I'll continue with a week of conditioning and rehab for my knee because I think I will still feel some pain for around two months," continued Goggia, who three weeks ago had suffered a partially torn cruciate ligament and a “minor fracture” of a fibula bone in her left leg.
"And then for sure, the focus is already set on the World Cup because there is a globe in downhill to win. I'm leading the rankings and for sure I will give everything I have to to achieve this goal."
With four wins out of five events raced this season, the Italian tops the World Cup downhill standings with 400 points, 69 ahead of newly crowned Olympic champion Corinne Suter and 100 points are awarded to the winner of each event.
A total of three downhills are left this season: two in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, on 26-27 February, and the last one on 16 March during the World Cup Finals in Courchevel/Meribel, France.