Italian skier Matteo Franzoso dies at 25 after training crash in Chile

Italian skier Matteo Franzoso died at age 25 after sustaining a serious head injury in a training crash in Chile over the weekend, officials confirmed this week. The Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI) said Franzoso died Saturday after crashing during a training session in La Parva, about 30 miles outside Santiago. He was airlifted to an intensive care unit and placed in a medically induced coma after the incident.

Franzoso crashed into a fence while attempting a small jump, according to officials. He remained in an intensive care unit as medical teams worked to treat the injury, which the federation later attributed to a head injury and resulting cerebral edema. His 26th 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 just under a year ago, when Matilde Lorenzi passed away." The federation expressed condolences and pledged support for Franzoso’s family and for the broader ski community.

Franzoso competed in 17 World Cup races—11 in super-G and six in downhill—and earned one Europa Cup victory, a super-G in 2021. He recorded a best World Cup result of 28th in a super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo in January 2023. The Italian federation noted that he had been training with senior teammates such as Dominik Paris, Christof Innerhofer and Mattia Casse as the team prepared for the Milan-Cortina Olympics scheduled for February. Franzoso also placed on the World Cup circuit as a youngster, showing promise in junior competition, including a fourth-place finish in the downhill at the World Junior Championships in 2020 and a Europa Cup win in 2021.

The federation did not specify a cause beyond the head injury and edema, but said it would work to learn from the tragedy and take steps to minimize risk across sports. Roda emphasized ongoing support for athletes and coaches and called on the ski community to respect Franzoso’s family during the difficult period.

The death adds to a recent history of tragedies in winter sports, including the death of Italian skier Matilde Lorenzi in October 2024 after a training fall. Roda, in referencing Lorenzi, connected Franzoso’s passing to a broader commitment within Italian sport to address safety concerns and to provide resources for athletes facing the pressures of high-level competition. The federation said it would cooperate with international bodies to review safety practices and protocols in training contexts.

As Franzoso’s teammates continued to prepare for upcoming events, officials urged patience and focus on safety, noting that the loss of a young athlete reverberates through a tight-knit community that faces inherent risks in high-speed skiing. The broader sport community widely mourned the loss and reaffirmed commitments to safety, medical readiness and athlete welfare as competitions resumed in the season ahead.