Skier Matteo Franzoso Dies at 25 in Training Crash: 'A Tragedy for His Family and for Our Sport' Sean NeumannSeptember 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM 0 Severin Aichbauer/SEPA.
- - Skier Matteo Franzoso Dies at 25 in Training Crash: 'A Tragedy for His Family and for Our Sport'
Sean NeumannSeptember 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM
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Matteo Franzoso -
Skier Matteo Franzoso has died after sustaining a "major head injury" in a crash during a training session over the weekend
Franzoso was placed in a medically induced coma after the crash but did not survive, the Italian Winter Sports Federation said
Skiers across the globe mourned the 25-year-old Italian athlete's death
A young Italian skier's death this week has shocked and saddened the winter sports community.
The Italian Winter Sports Federation announced Monday that skier Matteo Franzoso died after sustaining "a major head injury" during a training crash in Chile on Saturday.
Franzoso was 25 years old.
The skier's death comes almost one year after another Italian skier, Matilde Lorenzi, died in a crash while training in October 2024.
"This is a tragedy for the family and for our sport," Italian Winter Sports Federation President Flavio Roda said in the statement. "It's a tragedy that brings us back to the state of mind we had just under a year ago, when Matilde Lorenzi passed away. It's absolutely essential to do everything possible to ensure that such incidents never happen again. In this sad and painful moment, I want to tell all athletes and coaches, from all sports, that the Federation is by their side and that they will find all the support they need. I ask for the utmost respect for Matteo's family, whom we will support for whatever is necessary."
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Matteo Franzoso
According to the federation, Franzoso crashed while attempting to land the first small jump on the training course, resulting in him being thrown into a nearby fence about 20 ft. off the course. Franzoso was "reached immediately by air ambulance" and taken to "the intensive care unit and placed in a medically induced coma."
"As the hours passed, however, Franzoso's body could no longer withstand the damage caused by the trauma," the Italian Winter Sports Federation said.
Franzoso would have turned 26 years old on Tuesday.
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Matteo Franzoso
The federation remembered Franzoso as "a cheerful, smiling, and kind young man" who first debuted in the super-G circuit in 2021. He competed in 17 total World Cup races, including 11 super-Gs and six downhills, with his best finish coming on Jan. 23 when he came in 28th place during a super-G race in Cortina d'Ampezzo, according to The .
Skiers from across the globe mourned Franzoso's death on social media, including American Lindsey Vonn and Norwegian champion Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. Franzoso's former teammates and roommates in Italy also shared their memories and tributes online.
"Know that from now on, I will always carry your vitality with me," Giovanni Franzoni, who was Franzoso's former teammate and roommate, said in a statement. "I will always be grateful for the little everyday things each of us experiences... every turn of mine will also be yours, we will ski together in every race and every training session, pursuing that dream we always shared.
Franzoni added: "Some people think it's an unfair and cruel sport, but I think it's what brought us together and made us friends, and that's what matters most to me: the bonds and memories I have of the two of us."
Pietro Canzio, another of Franzoso's former teammates, wrote in another statement that "it's probably impossible for me to explain what it means to be teammates" and "brothers." "What is certain is that the bond we create with each other is something enormous," Canzio said. "One person's triumph feels as if it were a part of you, but when it comes to pain, we all experience it together and suffer alongside each other without any kind of discount. Matteino, I love you, I always will!"
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