By Simon Evans
YANQING, China (Reuters) – Italy’s Sofia Goggia is aiming to become only the second woman to win back-to-back Olympic golds in women’s downhill in Tuesday’s race on “The Rock” after a hurried return from injury.
No woman has successfully defended their crown in downhill since Germany’s Katja Seizinger won golds in 1994 and 1998 but Goggia’s dominance on the World Cup circuit, where she won the 2021 downhill title and currently leads in the speed event, had raised the prospect of a repeat.
But a serious crash at a race in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Jan. 23 left Goggia on crutches for three days and her Olympic ambitions in serious doubt.
The Italian returned to the slopes for the first time on Saturday, safely completing the first training run and declaring that she had suffered no major pain from her injured left knee.
After Sunday’s training was cancelled due to heavy snow, Goggia was back on the slope on Monday and posted the fourth fastest time, saying she was untroubled by her knee.
The 29-year-old has gone all in on getting fit enough to ski one fast race and give herself the chance of another gold.
“The Olympic Games are everything, they are the place you want to be to achieve your childhood dream and so there is no place I would rather be than here,” she said.
But there is no shortage of rivals ready to pounce if she isn’t able to quickly refind her top speed and form down the course, known as “the Rock”.
Switzerland’s Corrine Suter came into Beijing on the back of a World Cup win at Garmisch and is second to Goggia in the World Cup standings.
Austrians Ramona Siebenhofer and Mirjam Puchner, the silver medalist in super-G, will also fancy their chances in Tuesday’s race as will German Kira Weidle.
American Mikaela Shiffrin will be aiming to make up for the bitter disappointment of failing to finish in her favoured events, slalom and giant slalom, with a strong showing in downhill ahead of the combined event.
(Reporting by Simon Evans, editing by Robert Birsel)
