Someone up there loves them. The first thought, after the silver in the downhill on Saturday7, Giovanni Franzoni dedicates to Matteo Franzoso, his roommate and teammate, who died in October in Latin America in a training accident, as he now does with every success of a season that combines beautiful things (the combined freestyle was also beautiful, without a dedication, because Vinatzer’s slalom didn’t go as it should, and the gesture of Franzoni who, instead of complaining, went to help him take off his skis and then give them to him was beautiful he also brought them).
It’s been weeks since his Rossinian crescendo of successes began that this boy, who seems even younger than his 24 years, and who has the rare courage not to hide all his sensitivity and uncertainties, repeats that he feels he doesn’t ski aloneof feeling a gaze from above.
The same concept was expressed by a very moved Sofia Goggia after the bronze in the women’s freestyle, dedicated to Elena Fanchini, who passed away on 8 February three years ago, sister Nadia who was commentating on TV. Having come down with number 15, shaken by Lindsay Vonn’s scary fall, Goggia dove into the first hug in tears, then explaining: «I sent a message to Nadia, explaining to her that I had thought about Elena while skiing, I didn’t feel alone, we’re not alone».
These frequent thoughts of theirs are moving and endearing, not of the Lares and Penates, but of boys of more or less their age, kidnapped to heaven too soon: you can perceive how present they feel, desperately sensing the unnaturalness of their absence. It is not obvious, between the ages of 25 and 35, as they have, losing teammates, friends with whom they have shared races, emotions, rooms, and feeling all the injustice of being there to compete in the race without them, having them there to share anymore.
In a post of hers on Facebook, touching and authentic as often happens, Sofia Goggia this morning wrote an open letter to Cortina, in which we read: «8 February is a special day, 8 February 2026 is a day that I will never forget and I firmly believe that in this medal there was also the caress of one of our companions who passed away three years ago, a companion who however continues to live in our hearts. Thanks to all the people who helped me yesterday to manage the situation, thanks to you Dear Cortina but thanks also to you, Elly (Elena Fanchini, ed.): you are always with us, in us.”
Words that also speak of the depth of these two phenomena, because that is what they are on the track, who know how to express themselves in a way that is not obvious and give depth to their being symbols beyond sport and racing.
