4 June 1970, the birth of the snow queen: best wishes Deborah Compagnoni!

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The most successful blue ever, despite a thousand injuries and that cry of pain in Albertville that entered the hearts of the Italians. Half a century of a timeless champion, capable between World Cup and Olympics to sign the most beautiful days in the history of our skiing. The NEVEITALIA special to celebrate it.

Wednesday 3 June 2020 11 minutes reading time

She is our snow queen, the one who could have perhaps become the largest ever on a global level, if bad luck hadn't hit us several times. Yet when we go to review Deborah Compagnoni's career, the only adjective that can come to mind is that of a champion; be patient if you have not won the general World Cup (Federica Brignone has thought about filling that historic gap for Italian skiing in pink), for which she had clearly all the credentials considering what she showed from a very young age, because the woman's palmares arrived from Santa Caterina Valfurva to conquer the world, she remains extraordinary, with 3 Olympic titles (and a silver in slalom in Nagano) in 3 different editions of the Games, the first and only woman to do so, 3 world golds obtained within 12 months between Sierra Nevada and Sestriere, in addition to a giant crystal ball conquered at the end of the 1996/97 season (when it was fourth in the general, the best result equaled the following year). Sixteen wins in the maximum circuit (13 in giant, 2 in super-g, 1 in slalom), one more than in Brignone, with 44 overall podiums. Well, June 4, 2020 means half a century of life for a timeless champion, to whom we will dedicate for the whole day a special, a sort of "Compagnoni Day" in the footsteps of what NEVEITALIA did last November for 50 years made by another myth of blue skiing, Kristian Ghedina. Married to Alessandro Benetton, the man who will bring the world championships to Cortina and then the Olympic Games in 2026, with whom he had three splendid children, Agnese, Luce and Tobias, the Valtellinese star founded in 2002 the '' "Skiing for life" association, dedicated to the fight against leukemia and dedicated to cousin Barbara, who passed away at the age of 19. Always far from the spotlight, for over twenty years when she closed her wonderful adventure in the white circus in Sierra Nevada in March 1999, Deborah simply illuminated the slopes of the whole world. Since junior, a very early medal in the 1986 World Cup and gold in Saelen a year later. Just in the final of 1987, the debuts in the World Cup are dreamy, with two top 5 in the speed between Sestriere and Val d''Isère. It seems all written, but the first injury to his right knee (the crusader and collateral ligaments skip) breaks the dreams, even if the intestinal blockage that, in 1990, endangers the life of the most awaited talent in circulation will be even more serious. In practice, it will be necessary to wait from 1988 until the beginning of the 1991/92 season to review the Compagnoni in conditions of being able to make a result. And it is a clear sign of destiny the first podium in the World Cup that arrived right on the slopes of home, in the giant of Santa Caterina Valfurva on 8 December 1991, with the 2nd place behind Vreni Schneider. In late January here is the first success, in super-g at Morzine, and the journey to his first Olympic Games in Albertville. On the Méribel track, on 18 February 1992 Deborah won the super-g, on the same day in which Alberto Tomba graduated in turn as Olympic giant champion (repeating the triumph of Calgary between the wide doors). The most beautiful day in the history of our skiing, followed 24 hours later by one of the ugliest ones, with the Valtellinese that starts in giant to go and get another gold, but slips after a few seconds of the race and keeps the knee strong left, the "healthy" one; the scream of pain is excruciating, for her and those who follow her, including millions of Italians in front of the TV. It will remain a symbolic image, which will be inextricably linked to the subsequent, yet another rebirth. Of course, Debby must practically give up on fast specialties, where he could have won everything and fought for the absolute World Cup, not to overload his knees. A second and last super-g victory will arrive, on March 7, 1993 and again in Morzine, but the real return to the highest level occurs in the 1993/94 season, with three victories in the cup giants and the second Olympic title, this time between the wide doors, in the chill of Lillehammer. Knee cartilage problems are far from resolved, it is no coincidence that in the following two years only one success will come, on January 8, 1995 in the giant of Haus im Ennstal, then the magic of Sierra Nevada starts the 24 best months of the whole career. Yes, because the first world title conquered in the giant on the Spanish snows, recovering in the 2nd heat (remember the sensational exit of Sonja Nef?), Provides Compagnoni with the sprint to go back to the past. Not even ten days later he dominated Narvik, in that March 2, 1996 which means the first hat-trick in the history of women's blue skiing with Panzanini and Kostner at his side on the podium of the Norwegian giant, then the 1996/97 season marks the opening of a incredible streak. Deborah imposes herself for the first and only time in a cup slalom (29 December 1996) in Semmering, but it is from the one-two of Zwiesel who puts a series of eight consecutive giants in the maximum circuit, which will also coincide with the last ones eight pearls of CdM career. Series that becomes 9 successes in the specialty considering the world championships in Sestriere: on the “Kandahar G.A. Agnelli ”, the blue star enters right into the legend with the brace between slalom, dominated in front of Lara Magoni for a magical all-Italian brace, and giant. Another hurrà will arrive at the end of the season in the giant of the finals of Vail and the specialty cup, then the second part of that extraordinary series with 4 giants won until January 1998, up to that of the 6 month, a stone's throw from home, in Bormio (remember the first podium in Santa Caterina Valfurva?). The last big goal thus becomes the Nagano Games, where Deborah looks drawn to the point: in slalom it is silver for only 6 cents, mocked in the final stretch by the remounting Hilde Gerg, but in giant there is no history. Third Olympic title by trimming 1 ”80 to Alexandra Meissnitzer, history is complete. The last season in the cup will no longer see it on the same standards, but will give us the last two podiums between the opening of Soelden (third) and another giant in Val d''Isère (second). The physicist can no longer hold, even if the head would like to reach his World Cup finals, those scheduled in Bormio in 2000. In March 1999, the final races of Sierra Nevada will put an end to a more unique career that rare.

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