Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn extend heartfelt condolences to Matteo Franzoso's family after Italian skier's untimely death

Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn extended heartfelt condolences to Matteo Franzoso’s family following his tragic passing on September 15, 2025. The Italian skier was training in Chile when he suffered a major head injury after crashing into a fence on the La Parva slopes during a training session.

Matteo Franzoso, who was about to celebrate his 26th birthday on September 16, 2025, suffered a fatal injury that first landed him in a medically induced coma in a Santiago hospital, and ultimately ended his life. His best performance came in 2023 when he finished 28th in the Super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The skier's untimely death left the sporting world mourning, with the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup's official Instagram page posting a letter of condolence in his honor.

"The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) extends its deepest condolences following the tragic loss of Matteo Franzoso. 💙The 25-year-old Italian skier passed away in Santiago, Chile, after a fall during training on the La Parva slope. Our thoughts are with Matteo’s family, teammates, and the entire Italian winter sports community."

Shiffrin, the most decorated alpine skier in history with 102 World Cup wins, wrote:

"My thoughts and love go to Matteo’s family, friends, team, and our entire community."

Joining forces, Lindsey Vonn wrote:

"RIP Matteo"

Shiffrin and Vonn's condolences; Instagram - @fisalpine

Franzoso's death came a year after Matilde Lorenzi, Europa Cup racer and Italian Junior champion, succumbed to death after a fall at the Italian ski resort of Val Senales.

Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn's performances at the 2024/25 Alpine Skiing World Cup

Vonn and Shiffrin at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - USA Photoshoots - (Source: Getty)

Mikaela Shiffrin was off to a good start at the 2024/25 edition, winning the slalom events in Levi and Gurgl. Following that, the 30-year-old's world turned upside down when she suffered an abdominal crash during her giant slalom run in Killington. She persevered and recorded her 100th World Cup win in slalom in Sestriere, followed by the 101st in the World Cup finals.

On the other hand, Lindsey Vonn, who ended her retirement to give the World Cup another try, competed in the past season as well. She finished fourth in Super-G in February, but following that, the 40-year-old suffered minor injuries during her downhill training in Cortina d'Ampezzo. She resumed her season and finally won the silver in Super-G in season finals, her first podium in seven years.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder