The new Super-G Olympic champion defied misfortune by living life to the fullest, with a thousand hobbies, such as playing the French horn, and sports. In 2017, the disease that no one had noticed, in 2023, a broken knee. And before competing, a nervous breakdown…

Chiara Mazzel was riding her scooter when she was about to hit some pedestrians and realized that her vision in one eye was no longer the same. A few months later, her other eye was also no longer seeing clearly. It was 2014, and she was 17 years old. She was diagnosed late with acute glaucoma, which left her almost blind in her right eye and completely blind in her left. The disease had been there for some time, but no one had noticed. After the diagnosis, silence was her only companion. For two years, she remained shut in her house, paralysed by fear.

panic attack—  She has many hobbies, such as music, French horn, trekking, painting and running. The deafening silence in which she had shut herself away has disappeared, replaced by an immense desire to live. In these Games, she was chosen to be the Italian flag bearer: “Carrying the Italian flag is an honor that repays every sacrifice.” Today, Chiara won a gold medal in the Super-G. A gold medal in women’s alpine skiing, 20 years in the making. That’s how long it’s been since Turin 2006, when Silvia Parente climbed to the top step of the podium. And to think that this morning she had a minor panic attack caused by a headache and didn’t want to compete: “During the reconnaissance, I got a really bad headache, and I almost didn’t want to start because I couldn’t keep my balance, so I’m also super satisfied with how I handled this setback,” says Chiara.
Ahead in the right race—  Her tenacity and inner strength took her to the gate to win her second medal in two disciplines. Except for a few small mistakes, Chiara skied excellently on the same slope—the Olimpia delle Tofane—where the Olympic competitions were held, a pure spectacle. She showed great courage and technique. Definitely the current number one in this discipline, she handled the jumps very well and managed to control her skiing in the turns. On the race: “I’m very happy with how it went this morning. There were a few small mistakes, but I did a lot of turns well, so I’m very satisfied. Towards the end, I made a mistake, but I managed to recover immediately and give myself the final push to reach the finish line. I’m in great shape,“ she says, ”and when I make mistakes, I know I have to recover and always give something extra.“ The satisfaction of beating her strongest rival: ”I always compete with Aigner for the podium, and being able to stay ahead of her in a Paralympic race is wonderful.“ On the gold medal: ”It’s a wonderful feeling, now I’m focusing on the other races, starting tomorrow.”