Olympian dies at just 37 years of age
It’s a sad day in the world of winter sports and the Alpine Ski World Cup. Italian skier and silver medalist, Elena Fanchini has died at 37 from a tumour.
"At the end of a serious illness, Elena Fanchini passed away in her home in Solato (near Brescia)," the Italian Winter Sports Federation said in a short statement.
Fanchini died on the same day that fellow Italian skier Marta Bassio won the super-G world championships in Meribel, France; and just two days after Federica Brignone, a former teammate, won gold in combined.
Another fellow skier, Sofia Goggia, the favourite for Saturday’s downhill, dedicated her win in Cortina d’Ampezzo last month to Fanchini.
American champion skier, Mikaela Shiffrin took to Twitter to share her grief over Fanchini’s death. "This was a day filled with emotions. There is so much I'd like to share... but what weighs the heaviest is the loss of @ElenaFanchini,” she said in her tweet.
Fanchini won a silver medal in the 2005 world championships and two World Cup races in her career - both in downhill.
Fanchini last skied competitively in December 2017. She was cleared to return to training almost a year late but her condition had worsened.
She had to miss the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics because of her condition.
Fanchini's younger sisters Nadia and Sabrina were also World Cup racers.
Image credit: Getty