Alpine Skiingthe blue champion
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The Aosta Valley champion spoke to the staff of Hastafisio, who treated her in the toughest period. And very interesting aspects of her world and of a mentality that brought her to the top of the world came out.
Saturday 28 March 2020 8 minutes reading time
The purest Federica, the one who grew up with the pleasure of fun and, step by step, became the winner of the World Cup in Brignone.
There are many interviews and a thousand words and thoughts expressed by the Aosta Valley champion in these days, but the intervention of Fede on the occasion of a direct social with the staff of Hastafisio, the center of Asti where he was already treated in the first hard period of career, that post injury of December 2012, has revealed a very interesting side of the person, even before the athlete.
From the first plastic skis, "I was like a year and a half, I entered the shop and in fact forced my parents to buy them by going out with the tools on their feet", on the transfer from Milan to the Aosta Valley to begin elementary school and skiing in a way far removed from the ambition of competitive spirit and the stress that derives from it. “I always skied for fun, even though I was already a competitive spirit. You could ski in company, at the Sci Club Courmayeur (the same as Mamma Ninna Quario), on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. The beauty, however, is that I only practiced it in the winter months, while from spring to summer and until late autumn, I did something else.
Athletics, skating, swimming, climbing, artistic gymnastics, golf and tennis ... sport and movement are still my leisures, my days of rest practically do not exist because I still enjoy doing all this ".
And when Federica realized that skiing could have become something ... big? “Only after the first podium in the World Cup (Aspen giant, 28 November 2009, ed.). Up to the age of 19, in fact, I had a normal life after all, because I wanted to do well in school and then at university; I didn't win much when I was young, in fact it was normal to lose much more than to achieve success. I was among the first at the regional level, but at a national level far from the top. Only fifteen, as a student, I started to emerge, then joining the committee and taking care of the athletic preparation and the many days of skiing allowed me to make the qualitative leap. Until then, we had a summer week in Les Deux Alpes, summer didn't mean skiing because my parents didn't want me to get tired of this sport. "
A great lesson, that of mom Ninna and dad Daniele, who saw their Federica suffer all right, after the first qualification for the Olympics (Vancouver 2010) and that silver in the world giant of Garmisch 2011: “In 2015 I had many doubts about opportunity to find my level - the confession of Faith - and I told myself that I would go on only doing everything right with a trainer who followed me daily, but also the choice to entrust myself to many people in the various roles that serve a skier to make that click which, in my case, was triggered by the victory in the Soelden giant of October 2015 ".
And if Brignone explains that “in reality I didn't have poster idols in the room, but in the family we have always cheered for all the Italian champions, from Deborah to Isolde, from Albertone to Kristian, and among foreign skiers I liked Sonja Nef so much ", The friendship with Marie-Michele Gagnon is so strong that" they made a promise to travel the world together once their career was over ".
Two other aspects of current events in Federica's skiing world are also interesting: “There is a lot of stress and the level is crazy, but if I see a Kristoffersen going around with 20 pairs of boots, I can say that I almost use it same for each specialty. I was born with the giant, but I prefer the super-g because you only have one chance, you can't try and I like the idea of knowing how to evaluate a difficult passage, using head and instinct ". The relationship with his brother Davide is "beautiful, we know how to separate the work part from the family part, but we live practically 24 hours together during the races and it is an extraordinary support", while the eight-year-long one ended with the historic boyfriend, the French descent Nicolas Raffort.
Will Faith change after this historic feat for Italian sport? She really doesn't believe: “I have always seen the general World Cup as the biggest dream, I made it but I believe and hope to always remain myself, because it is one of the most important prerogatives. I want to have my life, this simplicity and the relationships with family and friends as it has always been even after the first victories and medals ".
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