Federica Brignone announced that her decision to return to the competition at Kronplatz was to test the conditions, her mental fortitude, and her performance, before the Olympics rolled in. She has been away from the slopes for months due to injury, until she returned to training in November 2025.
Brignone was the overall World Cup champion in the 2024-25 season, becoming the oldest skier, male or female, to achieve the feat.
Federica Brignone Opens Up on Cautious Comeback Ahead of Home Olympics
Brignone had her most successful season in 2024–25, winning her first downhill Crystal Globe and the overall title after the Sun Valley finals were cancelled due to rough weather. The Italian skier earned 10 wins across disciplines, demonstrating her prowess in both technical and speed events. Following that, she crashed during the Italian Championships giant slalom at Val di Fassa, requiring immediate surgery.
The setback forced her to sit out of the slopes for months, until she returned in November, anticipating the Cortina Olympics in February 2026. In a recent press conference, the 35-year-old revealed that she has not thought of any long-term plan, but wishes to take it one day at a time. While her focus is on the Cortina Olympics, she will compete in Kronplatz’s giant slalom to see where she stands in terms of mindset and performance, saying:
“It has been really hard to have long-term goals, so we put some goals weekly, or daily, mostly, and so lately we have been skiing, we said, okay, if you have this confidence, if you can ski, if you can push, we can think about racing.”
She further noted that performing on schedule, racing two or three hours apart, and seeing whether the training pays off are among the important points to tick off. So, starting with Kronplatz, her home slope, would be the best opportunity.
“I think it’s a good way to start from a slope that I know, and it’s home, and I was around here for training, and last week I’ve been skiing here with other girls, nd day by day, run by run, it’s going better… I was telling before that my goal is not the result tomorrow, for sure, I’m not ready, like I was the other years, but I’m here to test my performance, to test my leg, to test my mind.”
Brignone won two podiums at the 2022 Beijing Games and is headed to win her first gold at the global stage. Her post-injury hiatus was marked by reflection and careful consideration of how she would approach the road to the Olympics. She was named Athlete of the Year by the Italian Winter Sports Federation in October 2025, and in a later interview, she said she did not set a deadline for the 2026 season after an extended period of rehabilitation.
Despite her uncertainty about returning to the Olympic stage in the same form as before, she expressed excitement about the quadrennial event set to be hosted at home. The Italian skier won her first Olympic medal in giant slalom at the 2018 Pyeongchang edition.
