It would have been an impressive feat for Sofia Goggia to simply compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics considering what happened to her less than a month ago.
On Jan. 23, Goggia was involved in a rough crash during a super-G race at the World Cup in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The crash left the Italian alpine skier with multiple left leg injuries: a knee sprain, a minor fracture of the fibula and a partially torn ACL.
Goggia, 29, was the reigning Olympic champion in the downhill event and considered a heavy favorite to repeat at the Beijing Games. But suddenly her Olympic status was in doubt following the crash.
Fast forward just over three weeks later, not only was Goggia in Beijing to defend her title, she was back on the podium too.
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Goggia, who said she wasn't anywhere near 100 percent, finished the downhill with a time of 1:32.03, good enough to (temporarily) put her at the top of the leaderboard. Two skiers later, she was overtaken by Switzerland's eventual gold medalist Corinne Suter, who bested the defending champ's time by 0.16 seconds.
Goggia would remain in second through the end of the event, earning one of the more impressive medals you'll see at the Winter Games.
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“For me, the Olympic Games are everything," Goggia said (h/t NBCOlympics.com). "It’s my childhood dream. ... It’s worth a lifetime on skis.
“I always knew in my heart that with the effort it took to come back from that crash, the race itself would be the easiest part."
The first call Goggia said she made after her run was to former Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn. The Italian thanked Vonn for her support over the past few days and called herself the "biggest" Vonn fan.
Well, Goggia appears to have a big fan in Vonn as well.
