Lara Culturi in Albania to grow up

“I introduce myself to the world of adults to see the effect it has. Without pressure.” These are the first words of Lara Colturi in chat with The Sports Sheet. Making her debut in exactly one week in the World Cup before the age of 16 (she will turn it on November 15) is not an absolute record, but this girl from the Susa Valley will have many eyes on her. Lara has been talked about for some time as a phenomenon, in the youth categories she has won everything, but to be able to present himself at the start of the World Cup already in 2022 he made a choice that triggered mixed reactions, he got to compete for Albania with a lot of passport. A way to burn the times and put yourself to the test. Following the process of the Italian national teams it would not have been possible to make an early debut in the major circuit, climb the rankings and hope to be at the start of the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026.

Lara is the daughter of Daniela Ceccarelli, Olympic gold medalist in Super G in 2002 in Salt Lake City. Daniela is a mother, but also a coach together with her father Alessandro, the family’s desire is to be able to personally follow her daughter in her technical growth. Individual sport has many precedents of coach parents, not all of them lucky, only the future will tell us about this. Daniela Ceccarelli has also become the technical director of the Albanian national team, the young boys of the small Adriatic nation train between Sestriere and Bardonecchia right on the slopes where Lara grew up.

The choice brought with it many controversial aftermaths. The possibility that one day, in the event of an Olympic or world victory, on the top step of the podium Lara had to listen to the Albanian anthem instead of singing Brothers of Italy at the top of her lungs, also made Sofia Goggia and Paolo De turn up their noses. Church. Giorgio Rocca’s opinion was different, as he had two passports and as an athlete he could also have chosen Switzerland instead of Italy: “An opportunity that had to be seized” he tells Il Foglio Sportivo. But perhaps it is too early to predict the future. And it’s not a one-way trip: the blue jumpsuit is not lost forever. In recent months, however, there has been much talk of the choice and little of the person: “I have slipped all these comments on me, mum and dad are still angry”.

Lara Colturi exudes sympathy, has an easy, cheerful laugh, even when she talks about the inevitable contrasts between a teenager and a mother of character: “We are a very close family, we face every problem together, even at the cost of some clashes”, says Lara , “The choice of Albania was collective, following the decision to be in Sölden for the giant on 22 October. The results obtained in the races in South America (ten wins in twenty races) have been an extraordinary incentive, but what I will do after the debut is still to be planned ”. A month and a half between Argentina and Chile was also a great financial commitment. There is talk of about 20 thousand euros supported largely by the Tirana federation.

“They tell me that I put skis on for the first time at 13 months, but I was too young to remember,” continues Colturi. “Instead I have a clear image in Cortina where I was for my mother’s races (the last of my career) I had a pair of skis completely covered with stickers. I was three years old. I loved, and still do, a lot being in the snow, but I also loved figure skating. I got to do two races of the two disciplines on the same day ”. Paradoxically, even skating, which she practiced at a competitive level up to the age of 13, had taken her across the border. In fact, she trained in Briançon in France, she finished third at the national championships in the category. “Today I skate to have fun and maybe to let off steam. Physically, the two sports are incompatible ”, Lara Colturi explains,“ in skiing you need power, in skating lightness. Skiing is the family sport, but the passion is all mine. Without it you can’t go anywhere “. At fifteen, passion and determination are fundamental for the life of a professional that already marks the days of Lara Colturi: wake up at 6, collection of physiological data through a sensor, neuro muscular activation process by putting ice on the chest and then interval training and finally a more than substantial breakfast. After a couple of hours she goes skiing until 12.30, in the afternoon she gym, in the evening I study following a program of business economics from the Ski College Frejus in Bardonecchia, at 9.30 to bed. Next Saturday she could be the last to show up at the starting gate. If she doesn’t qualify for the second heat no one will see her on TV. But if she were to succeed she would do better than the baby phenomena of the century: the Croatian Janica Kostelic and the American Michaela Shiffrin, both not qualified for the debut. Something more than a dream.