Elena Curtoni to Retire After 2026/27 Season

Italian speed specialist Elena Curtoni has made an important decision. The 35-year-old is returning to the World Cup after a difficult preparation period — and simultaneously announcing the end of her career. Elena Curtoni (born 3 February 1991) is an Italian World Cup alpine ski racer. her sister Irene Curtoni is also a former World Cup racer.[2]

Curtoni will compete on the World Cup circuit again in the 2026/27 season, but for the last time. The Italian confirmed the news on Instagram, revealing that the upcoming season will be her farewell tour.

A decision that was anything but easy

Curtoni described the choice as a long and difficult one, telling followers she had questioned her future repeatedly before finally settling on an answer. The past few weeks in particular had tested her resolve: right at the start of her pre-season preparation, the Valtellina-born skier suffered a minor injury that slowed her progress and reopened old doubts about whether to continue at all.

Rather than derail her plans, the setback appears to have sharpened them. Curtoni has spoken previously about having considered retirement during earlier injury struggles, including a serious back fracture suffered in a St. Moritz crash in December 2023 that wiped out most of that season. This time, she used the recovery to set fresh goals and commit to one final push back to the start gate.

Announcing her decision from Cervinia's Plateau Rosà, where she has been training alongside teammates including Federica Brignone, Marta Bassino and Laura Pirovano, Curtoni wrote that she could now say calmly that she would be at the start of the 2026/27 season — and that it would be her last.

A career built on consistency in the speed disciplines

Curtoni, who made her World Cup debut in November 2009, has been one of Italy's most dependable performers in downhill and super-G for the best part of two decades. Across 17 World Cup seasons she has won four races — two in downhill and two in super-G — and stood on the podium 13 times. She has represented Italy at two Winter Olympics and seven World Championships, though a major individual medal at the biggest events has so far eluded her.

Curtoni made her World Cup debut in November 2009 at age 18 and gained her first podium in March 2016; her first win was in a downhill at Bansko in January 2020, leading an Italian podium sweep with teammates Marta Bassino and Federica Brignone.

Her farewell campaign is expected to begin with the World Cup speed opener at Beaver Creek in December, ahead of a season that will also take her to the World Championships in Crans-Montana — an event where she will once again chase the podium finish that has narrowly escaped her at global championships throughout her career.

In her final season, Curtoni says she wants to do one thing above all: enjoy every moment of it.