Italian Olympic gold medal winner Federica Brignone has shared a video of herself training at the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise summer ski area above Zermatt, Switzerland, which is also accessible from Cervinia, Italy. The ski racing legend shared the footage on Instagram this week, showing her first on-snow training session of the new season. Her return to on-snow training marks a major step forward in her recovery journey after a devastating leg fracture threatened to end her career.
The 35-year-old entered the 2025-26 season facing one of the biggest challenges of her career after suffering a serious crash at the Italian Championships at the end of the 2024-25 season that left her with multiple fractures in her left leg. Brignone did not compete for the majority of the 2025-26 season, but competed in one race in order to qualify for the Olympics. At Cortina, she produced one of the most remarkable performances in Olympic alpine skiing history, capturing gold medals in both the super-G and giant slalom at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Yet behind those historic results was a painful reality. Brignone later revealed that she was in pain the entire time. “After my injury last year, I didn’t even know if I would be able to ski again in my life,” Brignone said earlier this year. Her Olympic double gold medals transformed an already legendary career into an incredible demonstration of mind over matter. But the question on everyone’s mind for the 2026-27 season remained: would she be able to overcome her pain and come back for another season? Brignone admitted that a possible return for the 2026-27 FIS World Cup season would likely represent her final campaign,“If I show up, it will probably be my last season,” she told Olympics.com.
After months of rehabilitation, public appearances, and celebrations following her Olympic triumph, Brignone has returned her focus to recovery — and now, finally, to snow. Summer glacier training is a crucial part of preparation for World Cup racers, allowing athletes to rebuild confidence, test equipment, and regain the feeling of high-speed skiing before the season begins. Following the devastating leg fracture, the return to on-snow training is especially meaningful.
The Italian “Tigress” has already achieved nearly everything possible in alpine skiing. She is a two-fold Olympic champion, World Cup overall season title winner, and one of the most decorated female ski racers in history. But if this truly is her final season, she has made one thing clear: she wants to leave the sport on her own terms.
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If Brignone completes her comeback and returns to the FIS World Cup, the 2026-27 season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting women’s campaigns in recent memory. With Germany’s rising star Emma Aicher continuing to find her form, Alice Robinson moving to Head skis, and Petra Vlhová returning to competition, Mikaela Shiffrin will face a deep field of challengers looking to dethrone the reigning overall crystal globe champion.
After overcoming one of the toughest injuries of her career, Brignone’s return would add another layer of intrigue to an already stacked women’s World Cup field — creating a season where experience, resilience, and the next generation of stars collide.
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