Sofia Goggia wins St Moritz downhill a day after hand operation
The downhill globe leader produced an inspirational performance to claim the top step in her specialist event just hours after surgery to her left hand.
Alpine Skiing
The irrepressible Sofia Goggia made a stunning comeback to win the downhill competition at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in St Moritz, Switzerland, on Saturday (17 December) just hours after a hand operation.
Goggia, who fractured her hand in her second-place finish the day before, wore a brace which served as the only evidence of her ordeal over the last 24 hours. The double Olympic medallist broke her left hand when it connected with the ice before the third gate on Friday.
Scans at a local clinic confirmed the PyeongChang 2018 gold medallist had suffered a fracture of the second and third metacarpals, which saw her travel to Milan for an operation and back to St Moritz to compete in Saturday’s racing.
The ninth skier down the piste, Goggia showed no sign of discomfort to clinch her third downhill title of the season with a winning time of 1:28.85. She finished 0.43s ahead of the second-placed Ilka Štuhec of Slovenia. Germany’s Kira Weidle rounded out the podium with a time of 1:29.37.
"I am super happy with my race," the 30-year-old told Eurosport-Discovery.
"I couldn't push at the start gate and this is why I think I didn't have the same gap as in the training runs, but half a second is enough. Also 0.01 seconds is enough, so I'm really happy today. If I am here today, it's just because I have to say a huge thanks to the people who helped me out yesterday, from the doctor to the driver who took me to Milan. I'm really grateful for the help I got."
Goggia further cemented her position at the top of the global downhill rankings adding to her two victories in the Canadian resort of Lake Louise earlier this month. She has now stepped onto the podium in all the downhill competitions this season.
Overall global leader, American Mikaela Shiffrin, finished in fourth place just missing out on the podium in only her second speed race of the season.
Sofia Goggia: "An epic win"
"This win is something epic and ranks in my personal top-3, along with Bad Kleinkirchheim in 2018, when I was super determined," Goggia told Italian reporters.
Asked if she could beat Shiffrin in the race for the overall globe, she admitted: "That would be something big. In order to claim the overall title, I need to win all the downhill races and podium in every Super G event, and possibly score bonus points in giant slalom."
"For sure I'm not the best all-round skier," the Italian added.
"I'm the most dominant skier in one discipline, the downhill, for what I've shown in the last three seasons. Shiffrin is facing stronger competition both in slalom and giant slalom."
Goggia revealed that, while she intends to compete in Sunday's Super G in St. Moritz, she will skip the two GS events in Semmering, Austria, at the end of the year.
A movie title for this win? 'The Hand of Sofia!' - Sofia Goggia
Women's Downhill St. Moritz on Saturday 17 December - Results
- Sofia Goggia (ITA) – 1:28.85
- Ilka Stuhec (SLO) +0.43
- Kira Weidle (GER) +0.52
- Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) +0.61
- Cornelia Huetter (AUT) +0.75
- Nina Ortlieb (AUT) +0.81
- Mirjam Puchner (AUT) +1.04
- Elena Curtoni (ITA) +1.16
- Joana Haehlen (SUI) +1.29
- Jasmine Flury (SUI) +1.32