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Italian skier Matteo Franzoso Died a few days before her 26th birthday after undergoing a serious head of the head during an accident during training in Chile this weekend, officials confirmed this week.
THE Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) published a declaration confirming the death of Franzoso, 25, who was fatally injured on Saturday when he crashed during a training session at the Parva, about 30 miles outside Santiago, Chile.
Matteo Franzoso, Italy, participates in Audi Fis Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Downhill in Kitzbuehel, Austria, January 25, 2025. (Severin Aichbauer / Sepa.Media / Getty Images)
According to officials, Franzoso crashed into a fence while trying a little jump. He was “immediately” reached by an air ambulance and led to an intensive care unit, where he was placed in a medical induction coma.
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Fisi said on Monday that he died of the head injury and the resulting cerebral edema. His 26th birthday was on Tuesday.
“It is a tragedy for the family and for our sport,” said FISI president Flavio Roda, in a press release. “It is a tragedy that brings us back to the state of mind that we had a little less than a year, when Matilde Lorenzi died.”
Matteo Franzoso of Italy reacts after having crashed down men’s descent for the Alpine FIS Alpine World Cup in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2022. (Sergei Belski / USA TODAY SPORTS)
The former American university skier died in an accident at the Lake Tahoe Resort
The Italian ski Matilde Lorenzi died less than a year ago in October 2024 after a Fall during a training session. She was 19 years old.
“It is absolutely essential to do everything possible to ensure that such incidents are not happening again,” continued the Declaration of Roda. “Right now sad and painful, I mean to all athletes and coaches, in all sports, that the federation is by their side and that they will find all the support they need. I ask for the greatest respect for the family of Matteo, to whom we will remain close in all the necessary ways.”
The Italian Matteo Franzoso is in competition during a ski race for the male World Cup on December 4, 2022, in Beaver Creek, Colorado. (AP photo / Robert F. Bukaty, file)
Franzoso won a super-G race on the second level Europa Cup circuit in 2021, after finishing fourth downhill at the Junior World Championships in 2020. He participated in 17 World Cup races-11 super-GS and six descents. Its best result of the World Cup was 28th in a super-G in Cortina of Ampezzo in January 2023.
Franzoso trained with the stars of the Italian team Dominik Paris, the Christof Innerhofer, Mattia Casse and others before the Jean-Cortina in February.
