Ski World Championships, Brignone Gold After Compagnoni: “Sbardellotto Our Common Ground”

Saalbach, 13 February 2025 – Who knows how ski preparation has changed from the nineties to today. And yet, the red thread that ties Deborah's gold together Comrades in Sestriere 1997 and that of Federica Brignone - gold in the giant – in Saalbach 2025 has a name and a surname: Mauro Sbardellotto.

He is the ski man who has won the only two golds in the history of the women's national ski team. He was there at the time, when the sidecut of skis was still something in progress, and he is there today, where the curves that Brignone paints are made of courage, speed, carving. For Fede, fifth world championship medal of his career, but the first in his beloved giant after the silvers of Garmisch 2011 and Courchevel 2023. It is a dream come true.  

Brignone: “The dream of a lifetime”

The tiger from La Salle had been dreaming of this success for a lifetime. Giant slalom is his specialty and he had come close to winning gold twice by a few cents, but Saalbach there was the sublimation of Federica's talent, with two dominated heats and the gaps – nine tenths to Robinson and over two and a half seconds to Moltzan – testify to their clear superiority. Brignone She had already done well in Saalbach at the World Cup finals a year ago and she also appreciates this type of spring snow, where you need to turn, yes, but lightly.

No sooner said than done: “A result I had dreamed of all my life and today I have made a dream come true – her words after the race - I had never won a giant at the World Championships and things become more complicated when you are in the lead after the first run. But I always tried to stay focused and when I crossed the finish line I was just hoping to see the number 1”.

 

 The best skier in the history of Italy

Brignone, who continues to break longevity records, is the best female skier in the history of Italy and has achieved victory after victory in an era of very high levels for alpine skiing, with champions of the calibre of Shiffrin e Good Behrami to add prestige to every success: “There has always been a very high level in women's skiing for my generation, then Shiffrin arrived, the strongest of all.

Achieving a result like that, with all eyes on it, is really difficult, and today I am really satisfied”, Brignone continues. And to go fast, on complicated snow, you need perfect, smooth, remote-controlled skis.

The connection with Sbardellotto

And this is where Mauro's work comes in. Sbardellotto, the bond between 1997 and today: “Deborah and I have one thing in common, Mauro Sbardellotto, the skiman who won both gold medals. I can't imagine how excited she was” - Fede's caress - Deborah has always been a champion with a capital C. The giant was something I was looking for and that I wanted, it was really exciting. Today I managed to keep useless things out of my head, and this was the most beautiful thing because you manage to be the master. It was a huge emotion”. With this success, Italy returns to second in the medal table and on Friday it's the turn of the men's giant. Read also - Ski World Championships, Brignone triumphs: gold in giant