Injury-Ravaged Italian Team Makes Strides in Returns to Snow and Physical Activity

Summer preparation is traditionally an opportunity to see athletes recovering from injuries suffered on snow. The Italians were among the most unfortunate teams in the last season from an injury standpoint, especially on the women’s side. It is with great pleasure that in recent weeks the Italian technical staff has noticed the positive steps of those athletes who have missed a good part of or the entirety of last season due to injury during on-snow training at the Stelvio Pass glacier and physical testing off snow.

World Cup star Elena Curtoni, who last raced in last season’s opening race in Soelden, Austria, tore her right ACL during a giant slalom training session at Copper Mountain, Colorado, in mid-November. Karoline Pichler also suffered a right ACL tear last September after tearing her left ACL in both February and October of 2016. With great stubbornness, both of these athletes have put their skis back on and are ready to throw themselves into the fray.

The same applies to 2017 World Junior GS champion Laura Pirovano, who fell in the super-G in Cortina, Italy, in mid-January, tearing the ACL and meniscus in her right knee. Pirovano’s injury was particularly unfortunate because it happened in her return to racing after skipping the first part of the year following a bone bruise to the tibia suffered in training at Copper Mountain earlier in the season.

In addition, Elena Fanchini continues her recovery with great tenacity after a tumor diagnosis just prior to the PyeongChang Olympics, while Verena Gasslitter and Francesca Marsaglia also continue the rehabilitation process from knee injuries and will have appointments with the medical commission in the coming weeks.

On the men’s side, the long recovery of Guglielmo Bosca has also begun. The Milan native contested his last race on December 20 in the Europa Cup super-G in Reiteralm, Austria, where he seriously injured his left leg. In the coming days, he will travel to Livigno to join the Europa Cup team to perform a series of rehabilitation workouts together with the team physiotherapist. A competitive return for Bosca is still far away.

Emanuele Bosca has also been seen in Livigno along with two-time World Cup downhill champion Peter Fill, who ended his season early after the Olympic super-G on February 16 due to a left thigh muscle injury.

In the women’s Europa Cup group, Carlotta Saracco is also coming back and will start skiing at the beginning of August after tearing her ACL last December while Lucrezia Lorenzi will return at the beginning of October.

Release courtesy of FISI (Italian Ski Federation).