Elena Fanchini

Elena Fanchini was born in Lovere, Lombardy, the eldest of three ski-racing sisters alongside Nadia and Sabrina. A natural speed racer, she made her FIS Alpine Ski World Cup debut in January 2005.

Just a month later, at age nineteen, Fanchini achieved glory on home snow at the 2005 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Santa Caterina/Bormio, winning the silver medal in the women's Downhill behind Janica Kostelić. She captured two World Cup downhill victories—at Lake Louise, Canada, in December 2005, and on the classic Cortina d'Ampezzo slope in January 2015. Representing Italy at the 2006, 2010, and 2014 Winter Olympics, Fanchini was renowned for her courage, overcoming multiple knee injuries before a cancer diagnosis in 2018. When teammate Sofia Goggia won the downhill World Cup in Cortina in January 2023, she dedicated the triumph to Fanchini just weeks before her passing at age 37.