Ski champion Elena Fanchini dies at 37

On Wednesday 8 February 2023, the world of sport woke to a shock loss with the passing of ski champion Elena Fanchini.

The young athlete died at the age of 37 after a tough battle against a tumor that she had been diagnosed with in 2018.

She seemed to have managed to overcome it, but, unfortunately, last summer the young skier, born in Lovere, in the province of Bergamo, had a relapse.

Elena Fanchini was born on April 30, 1985 to a passionate skiing family. In fact, she wasn't the only alpine skier in her family to compete at high levels. Sisters Nadia (pictured) and Sabrina also made a name for themselves in ski competitions.

Elena Fanchini was certainly a unique talent though, and has two World Cup victories to her name.

The two victories will be remembered who saw the thrilling torunaments in Lake Louise in Canada during the 2005 World Cup and in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy in 2015.

Elena Fanchini also represented Italy at the Olympics three times: Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014.

Unfortunately due to illness she was forced to miss the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, which were held in Pyeongchang County, South Korea in 2018.

The former alpine skier had announced on her Facebook account that she had cancer, with these words reported by dolomiti.it: "Everyone has faced difficult moments, moments in which life puts us to the test. Life has faced with a new challenge, a serious matter for which I am forced to stop to heal myself".

Her message continued: "It's not easy because I think about all the sacrifices, the effort, the goals of the season, the Olympics and my dreams. Everything slips away like rain. This is life, you never know what can happen, but I don't give up, I face this new challenge with a lot of strength and courage to come back stronger and make my dreams come true".

After missing the Winter Olympics to face the first round of treatments, Fanchini got back on track the following season. Unfortunately, an injury prevented her from continuing.

Elena, during a training session at Copper Mountain, suffered a bad fall resulting in a broken fibula which forced her to give up her passion again.

She had definitively retired from the world of alpine skiing in 2020 together with her younger sister Nadia, to whom she was very close. Her sister was also a national skier with 13 World Cup podium finishes.

Recently Sofia Goggia (in the photo), another Italian alpine ski champion, had dedicated a victory in the downhill in Cortina to her, with these words reported by the Huffington Post: "Eli this is for you".

Fanchini did not hesitate to respond to her colleague's dedication with these beautiful words: "That red bib gave me a smile".

Sadly, the former champion passed away at her home at the age of 37, leaving the entire sporting community in mourning. But he also leaves us an important legacy: her great talent and passion for her beloved sport. Rest in peace Elena.