2024/2025 FIS alpine ski World Cup: Sofia Goggia dances into comeback from injury with a Super G victory and second podium at Beaver Creek

Sofia Goggia capped off a comeback weekend to remember with a victory in the women’s Super G and a second consecutive podium at the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Beaver Creek, Colorado on Sunday (15 December).

The Italian ski ace was making her return after 10 months away from competition since suffering a fracture to her tibia and ankle in February, and if there were any doubts remaining about how she would adjust to race mode, Goggia set them all aside in the season’s opening speed races.

Skiing No.13, Goggia was unmatched for the intensity she showed on the legendary Birds of Prey course and was particularly strong on the second part of the course.

The two-time Olympic medallist was also impressive when she finished second in the downhill on Saturday (14 December), 0.16 seconds behind Austria’s Cornelia Huetter, but remarked afterwards that she skied that race at “80 per cent of my potential”. Goggia more than made up for it on Sunday as she crossed the finish line in 1:03.90, almost half a second ahead of Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami.

“I’m really happy and grateful. Also yesterday I was really happy. I knew that coming here, seeing the slope, I had maybe even more chance to do a really great performance on the Super G today rather than on the downhill,” Goggia told FIS after.

“It was not so difficult as a Super G, but the visibility was really low and was really flat, but I knew that I had to stay a little bit careful and pay attention to the first five gates and then I could let my horses run.”

Ariane Raedler took third position by knocking her teammate Huetter into fourth place, with the next competitors battling increasingly windier and darker conditions to complete their runs.

Goggia, for one, was so delighted with her time that she threw off her skis soon after crossing the line and started dancing in the finish area to congratulatory cheers from the spectators.

“(I said to myself) if I end up with the green light, then I’m going to do the samba as Pinheiro (Lucas Pinheiro Braathen), but there is one thing. I am not Brazilian. I am Italian and I’m from Bergamo and Bergamo is known for polenta so the only thing that I can do is polenta,” Goggia said of her creative dance moves.

There was plenty of reasons to celebrate for the 32-year-old, who has had a difficult road back after her February injury. She underwent a surgery, followed by a long rehabilitation, and had another surgery in mid-September to remove the plate and screw from her leg.

“When I am at the start gate, also yesterday, normally a person who is coming back from an injury thinks about the injury or maybe have some still pieces of fear. I was just there doing my race,” Goggia said of her race mentality after not skiing for eight months. “Maybe I had so many injuries that I’m so used to comebacks but I wish I have no comebacks anymore, but to stay here all the season long for some seasons still.”