Launched into a race against time to be ready for the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, Federica Brignone recently resumed training in giant slalom and assures that she is on the right track despite still-present pain.
Federica Brignone has no more time to waste.
Victim of a double tibia-fibula fracture last April, a few weeks after winning the world title in giant slalom, the Italian knows that time is running out. Bronze medalist in Pyeonchang then silver in Beijing in the discipline, the Milan native aimed to continue her progress at home during the Milan-Cortina Winter Games. Almost nine months after this fall, Federica Brignone resumed training in giant slalom on the slopes of the Aosta Valley. “
I can ski, but I still have a little pain in my shin, so we are assessing the situation day by dayshe told the transalpine magazine Race. Despite that, I am very happy. »
While the fog on the heights of Courmayeur delayed her program, the double world champion showed patience before putting on the skis this Friday and having “worked well” but without forcing too much. “ Now, let’s go step by step to see how my legs evolve, because these are my first times on a track “, she added. But everything is not yet perfect from a physical point of view, she admits to having “still some problems with (her) bending” and getting used to it because “it works well” despite everything. He will also have to build confidence in the coming weeks and try out snow that is less easy to ski. “ As long as it doesn’t hurt, I have confidenceassures Federica Brignone. I realized it this summer too, while practicing other sports. Obviously, I will have to ski on hard ground, in difficult conditions, and that will be another story.
But in these easy conditions, I have confidence. »
Brignone has “great room for improvement”
If she admits to having “a little more difficulty in the first gates of the wall, to position (her) skis correctly”, the Milanese is delighted to have “still a lot of room for improvement”. A return to skis in such a short time as his brother and trainer Davide Brignone did not see possible at the time of his sister’s injury. “No one could have imagined that eight months after her injury, she would already be at this stage,” he confided. Everyone almost talks about a miracle. » Despite everything, a presence on February 15 at the start of the giant slalom of the Winter Games remains a distant objective for Federica Brignone but we will have to count on her to give everything and succeed in her crazy bet.
