Lara Colturi and the Olympic dream: the negotiations between Italy and Albania continue

Lara Colturi wants to return to skiing for Italy, but Albania says no for now. There is a negotiation underway between the Tirana Winter Sports Federation and the young champion, daughter of art (her mother is the Olympic athlete Daniela Ceccarelli) who has presented the request to change her nationality and be able to wear the blue Milan-Cortina 2026 OlympicsSources from the Tirana Ski Federation say that at the moment there is no green light, after Albanian media, in particular the Top Channel TV broadcaster, spread rumours about the athlete's intentions to compete for the tricolour in the future.

Always from Tirana, it is emphasized that the body has at the moment given a negative response to the 18-year-old, who was born in Piedmont but who since 2022 has chosen Albania, also to continue to be trained by her mother, the 2022 Olympic SuperG champion Daniela Ceccarelli. Being under 16 at the time, the young woman did not need the positive opinion of the Italian federation, the Fisi, for the transfer.

It would not be the first time, it is still known from Tirana, that Colturi presents the transfer request, but until now everything had been resolved with a renewal of the relationship, which also led last season to the first historic podiums in Alpine skiing in Albania. At the center of the ongoing negotiations there would still be above all economic issues related to the support of the athlete's activity and also to the relationships with the sponsors. Now Lara Colturi and the team that supports it can put the results achieved in the last year on the scales, thus obtaining an acceptance of their requests.

In view of the 2026 Games, Albania would instead risk losing perhaps its only chance to get a medal and therefore is holding firm for the moment, with the refusal to transfer the young athlete. With this situation, two options remain open for Colturi: to stop for a year as per Fis regulations and then regain Italian sports nationality, or to continue competing under the Albanian flag and represent the Balkan country at the next Winter Olympics.

If the negotiations were to proceed, they would still have to be concluded by May 1st, the deadline to obtain approval for the transfer from the Albanian federation, according to the rules established by the FIS. The Italian Federation (FISI) is currently waiting and waiting.