Sofia Goggia facts for kids
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Goggia in 2019 at Palazzo Chigi
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| Disciplines | Downhill, super-G, giant slalom, combined | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Club | G.S. Fiamme Gialle | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 November 1992 Bergamo, Lombardy, Italy |
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| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 28 December 2011 (age 19) |
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| Teams | 2 – (2018, 2022) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 2 (1 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 4 – (2013, 2017, 2019, 2023) |
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| Medals | 2 (0 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 14 – (2012–2025) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 26 – (19 DH, 7 SG) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Podiums | 59 – (37 DH, 16 SG, 5 GS, 1 AC) |
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| Overall titles | 0 – (3rd in 2017) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 4 – (DH, 2018, 2021–2023) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Sofia Goggia (born 15 November 1992) is an Italian alpine ski racer. She competes in the World Cup and is known for her speed. Sofia is especially good at downhill and super-G races.
She has won two Olympic medals in downhill skiing. She won a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics. This was the first time an Italian woman won Olympic downhill gold! Sofia has also won the World Cup downhill title four times.
Contents
Sofia Goggia's Amazing Skiing Career
Sofia Goggia started her World Cup career in 2011. Even though she didn't have many starts in giant slalom, she was chosen for the 2013 World Championships. There, she showed her talent by finishing fourth in the super-G and seventh in the super combined.
First Big Wins and Medals
In November 2016, Sofia got her first World Cup podium. She finished third in giant slalom at Killington. A few months later, in February 2017, she won a bronze medal in the same event at the World Championships.
Her first World Cup race win happened in March 2017. She won a downhill race in South Korea. The very next day, she won a super-G race! This was her eleventh podium of the season. She ended the season with 13 podium finishes in four different skiing styles. She also finished third overall in the World Cup standings.
Olympic Gold and World Cup Titles
In 2018, Sofia won two World Cup downhill races in a row. These wins were in Austria and Italy. Then came the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. Sofia won the gold medal in the downhill event! She also won the World Cup downhill title that season. She just barely beat another famous skier, Lindsey Vonn, by three points.
Overcoming Injuries and More Success
Sofia has faced many injuries throughout her career. In October 2018, she broke her ankle. This made her miss most of the 2019 World Cup season. But she came back strong in January 2019. She finished second in her first two races. In February, she won her first race since her injury in Switzerland.
At the World Championships in Sweden, Sofia won a silver medal. This was in the Super-G race. She was only 0.02 seconds behind the gold medalist, Mikaela Shiffrin.
Representing Italy and More Victories
In June 2019, Sofia was chosen to be an ambassador for Italy. She helped Italy's bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. Her efforts helped Italy win the bid!
In the 2020 season, Sofia got two Super-G podiums. She won in Switzerland and came second in Russia. Sadly, she broke her left arm in February. This ended her season early.
In December 2020, Sofia won her first World Cup downhill race in almost two years. She continued to win in January 2021. She won four downhill races in a row! This made her the first woman to do this since Lindsey Vonn in 2018.
However, in January 2021, she fell and broke a bone in her right knee. This injury meant she missed the World Championships in Italy. Despite this, she still won her second World Cup downhill title in March 2021. The final race was canceled due to heavy snowfall.
Flag Bearer and Olympic Silver
In December 2021, Sofia achieved a "hat-trick" in Canada. She won all three races there: two downhills and one super-G. Only two other women skiers have done this!
In October 2021, Sofia was chosen to be Italy's flag bearer. This meant she would carry the Italian flag at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in China. But in January 2022, she injured her knee again in a crash. She worked hard to recover quickly. She still traveled to Beijing for the Olympics. She had to give up her flag-bearing duties. But on February 15, she won a silver medal in the downhill! This was her second Olympic medal in a row for that event.
After the Olympics, she didn't win many more races. But her strong start to the season helped her win the downhill cup again. This was her third downhill title.
In the 2022–23 season, Sofia continued her dominance in downhill. She won five out of nine downhill races. She also finished second three times. She won her fourth World Cup downhill title. At the 2023 World Championships, she was a favorite for downhill. But she was disqualified for hitting a gate.
Sofia Goggia's Injuries: A Story of Resilience
Sofia Goggia has faced many injuries during her career. But she always works hard to come back stronger. Here are some of her major injuries:
- 2010: As a teenager, she tore the ACL (a knee ligament) in both knees in separate crashes.
- February 2012: She hurt ligaments in her left knee and fractured a bone during a race.
- December 2013: Sofia tore the ACL in her left knee again during a downhill crash. She returned the next season but had more knee problems in January 2015.
- October 2018: She broke a bone in her right leg during training.
- February 2020: She broke her left arm during a race. This ended her season.
- January 2021: She broke a bone in her right knee after falling on wet snow. This made her miss the World Championships.
- January 2022: A crash caused a sprained left knee. She also had a small fracture and muscle injury.
- December 2022: She broke her hand during a downhill race. Even with a broken hand, she finished the race in second place! She had surgery and won the next day's race.
- February 2024: Sofia fractured her right leg during a training session.
Despite all these challenges, Sofia has achieved amazing things. She has 26 World Cup victories. She finished third overall in the 2017 World Cup. She has won four World Cup downhill titles. She also has two medals from the World Championships. And, of course, her Olympic gold in 2018 and silver in 2022. She won the silver medal in 2022 just three weeks after a serious knee injury!
Images for kids
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Sofia Goggia receives the Italian flag from the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, on December 23, 2021. She was supposed to be the flag bearer at the 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing. However, an injury forced her to give up this role. Her fellow citizen from Bergamo, Michela Moioli, replaced her.
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Goggia in a spectacular jump at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2018.
See also
- Italian skiers who closed in top 10 in overall World Cup
- List of FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women's race winners
