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Italian skier Matteo Franzoso Died just days before his 26th anniversary after he had a serious head injury in a crash during training in Chile this weekend, officials confirmed this week.
The Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) Released a statement confirming the death of 25-year-old Franzoso, who was mortally wounded on Saturday as he crashed during a training in La Parva, about 30 miles outside Santiago, Chile.
Matteo Franzoso from Italy competes under the 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 small leap. He was “immediately” reached by an aerial ambulance and led to an intensive care unit where he was put in a medically induced coma.
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Fisi said on Monday he died as a result of the head injury and a resulting cerebral edema. His 26 -year birthday was Tuesday.
“This is a tragedy for the family and for our sport,” Fisi President Flavio Roda said in a statement. “It’s a tragedy that brings us back to the state of mind we had almost a year ago when Matilde Lorenzi died.”
Matteo Franzoso from Italy responds after crashing into men’s downhill by Fis Alpine Ski world championship in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, November 26, 2022. (Sergei Belski/USA Today Sports)
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Italian skier Matilde Lorenzi died less than a year ago in October 2024 after one Fall during a training session. She was 19.
“It is absolutely important to do everything to ensure that such events never happen again,” continued Roda’s statement. “In this sad and painful moment, I will tell all athletes and train in every sport, that the federation is by their side and that they find all the support they need. I ask for the greatest respect for Matteo’s family that we will remain close in every way needed.”
Italy’s Matteo Franzoso competes during a men’s World Cup’s Super-G skiing, December 4, 2022, in Beaver Creek, Colorado. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)
Franzoso won a super-g race at the second level Europa Cup Circuit in 2021, after finishing in fourth place at Downhill at the World Junior Championships in 2020. His best World Cup was 28. In a super-g in Cortina d’Ampezzo in January 2023.
Franzoso trains with the Italian team of Standouts Dominik Paris, Christof Innerhofer, Mattia Casse and others in front of the Milan Cortina Olympics in February.
