«On skiing I was the poorest in the family. My fiancé knows I don’t miss training for a romantic getaway»- Corriere.it

Mom Ninna pink avalanche in the 80s, dad Daniele ski instructor. Has there ever been a time in your life when you didn’t feel destined for the snow, Federica?


«At the age of 6 I wanted to be a hairdresser

, the one determined to win races was my brother Davide. I liked the ski club because it was a way to spend time together, but falling in love was gradual. I have always been
the poorest of the Brignone family
. Super cool mother, teacher father, brother potential champion. At first, I never won.”

There are lives that, sliding downhill towards the valley, take curious curves. Federica Brignone, 32 years old, was born in Milan but moved to La Salle, Val d’Aosta, very small. Up there, developing an acute sensitivity for the environment (just finished the World Cup season, enhanced by a gold and a silver medal at the World Cup, he participated in the Ambrosetti Forum on the value of water and cultivates his own sustainability project: Trajectories Liquide), has become an irrepressible snowball: the first Italian to conquer an absolute crystal cup (2019-2020, the year of Covid, it arrived at her home in a cardboard box), 56 career podiums, second only to Alberto Tomba. But more than the things she does captain, i.e. first, those that she will do last matter, as she explains.

Pioneer, started from the giant to expand to super-G, freestyle and combined, super winner. How would you like to remain in the history of skiing?
«As an exception in the robotic conception of sport. Let me explain: I would like to be remembered as a good example for the boys, without being perfect, neither ascetic nor square. As for the results, I have obtained them in all the ski specialties: for me the strongest is the one that goes fast everywhere».

The first memory in the snow.
«Me and my brother on the bobsled, in front of the house, in La Salle. We devoured kilos of snow: never had a stomach ache. If the school bus didn’t pass, down by sled. Milanese memories are distant and faded. Grandma enrolled me at the first ski club, in Courmayeur. I started with the beginner harness, they changed it every day! I was learning fast.”

However, the home talent seemed to be Davide, her brother, who trains her today.
«My dream was to compete in the Cup with him but I never gave a damn about competing with my mother and brother: I wanted to bring out the best in myself».

Davide was stopped by injuries, she became the one of success. Is involving him in his team also a way to compensate him for victories?
«It is certainly a way of saying to him: I love you. He couldn’t, I could. My luck is having talent, mind, physique and will. Not exploiting all this goodness of God would have been a crime. Davide wanted to become an athlete much more than me: he passed on his motivation to me by osmosis ».

Do you believe in fate?
«There is no destiny, you create your own life. For big dreams, you need big commitment. I am a worker, I never give up. This last one was my best season yet it started badly, in November and December I sucked. But I’m really not the most talented of the family. It’s a matter of mind.”

From De La Salle, visiting the peaks of Europe and the world, is climate change more evident?
«At the end of March I went cross-country skiing with mum: the track was already closed. Never happened. What is really scary are the glaciers. Vallée Blanche, Deux Alpes, Marmolada, Monte Rosa: I’ve been going to them since I was 8 years old, I don’t recognize them anymore. I’ve always loved nature and I’ve always paid attention to recycling and saving: it’s a family thing. Even the sea is very bad. I love water sports, I surf, I’ve been to Indonesia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canary Islands. Where there were corals, today you find plastic. Certainly an individual can’t make a difference but a community, thank goodness, yes. We have to commit ourselves.”

What does Mikaela Shiffrin, the American champion of records, have more than her?
«She was intentionally raised to win: her parents created the perfect athlete, able to always produce the best possible performance. You can see it from her emotions: before being able to rejoice, it took her years. Mikaela is granite, I’m emotional. But I don’t have your impressive constancy.”

Shiffrin surpassed Stenmark’s cup win record, Vonn wanted to challenge the males. Does this continuous comparison with men make sense, Federica?
«The comparison on the track is non-existent, it’s bullshit, a feminism that has no reason to exist. Of course we women will never go as fast as them. But there are things we do better than men tactically, and technically we are not inferior. This does not mean that Shiffrin is stronger than Stenmark, absolutely not».

What are you most proud of?
«The fact that since 2015 I’ve never left the front lines, getting on the podium in various specialties. I’ve won a lot but I’m the same, I put my soul into it even on the worst days and I’m able to enjoy life”.

By the way: is there a love?
“I spent eight years with a French skier, Nicolas Raffort. Today I meet Davide, a boy from here, from the village. He understands that for me sport is now the priority: I don’t skip training for a romantic getaway! But if I can do both things and give Davide the right amount of attention, so be it».

Federica is 32 years old. Will Milan-Cortina 2026, your home Olympics, arrive?
«I don’t know if I’ll have the physique and the mind for the Games that still seem so far away. I achieved everything I wanted, even more. The key will be motivation, you have to go to the home Olympics to win, not as a tourist; for this reason I decide whether to continue only at the end of each season. Let’s talk again in 2025. Will I still want to look for my limit?».

And then?
“Then I will work with the children. At 10 they have an athletic trainer and a nutritionist, then maybe they are not able to run or somersault. But they know how to hack the cell phone perfectly. Instead, let them learn the rules and respect for sport».