Flora Tabanelli mid air in Stubai. | Image: Eduardo Espinosa

17-year-old Italian freeski prodigy Flora Tabanelli—the reigning Freeski Big Air World Cup champion and one of Italy’s brightest medal hopes for the 2026 Winter Olympics—has sustained a serious knee injury during training at the  Stubai Glacier in Austria.

According to a statement from the Italian Winter Sports Federation (FISI), Tabanelli fell badly during the landing phase of a jump on Wednesday, November 5, suffering a ‘twisting trauma’ to her right knee. Following the incident, she underwent MRI and medical evaluations at Milan’s San Siro Clinical Institute, where specialists confirmed an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Italy’s Flora Tabanelli at the New Zealand Winter Games. | Image: Winter Games NZ

FISI’s Medical Commission, chaired by Dr. Andrea Panzeri, emphasized that the situation will be handled with extreme care given both the importance of the upcoming season and Tabanelli’s young age. The federation announced that the Army Sports Centre athlete will begin a one-month rehabilitation program on Monday at J-Medical in Turin, where her recovery progress will determine whether she can continue with non-surgical rehabilitation or will require surgical intervention.

“The rehabilitation phase will be fundamental for any choice that will be made later,” the statement read. “If the knee responds positively and it is possible to proceed safely toward Olympic participation, that path will be pursued. Otherwise, an operation will be scheduled.”

Tabanelli’s injury comes as a major blow to Italy’s ski team ahead of the 2025–26 season, which includes crucial Olympic qualifying events. After Federica Brignone and Marta Bassino’s injuries has put their respective Olympic attendance in question, Tabanelli now becomes the third medal hope that might be forced to miss the home Olympics.

Last season, the young athlete from the Emilia-Romagna region made history by winning the Freeski Park & Pipe Overall Crystal Globe as well as the small Big Air Crystal Globe, capping off an extraordinary breakout year in which she also claimed the Big Air World Championship title. Tabanelli stormed onto the World Cup scene in the 2023-24 season, claiming her first World Cup podium in Beijing, China, just days after her 16th birthday. The young Italian prodigy went on to claim two Gold medals in the 2024 Youth Olympics in Gangwon, Korea, in Slopestyle and Big Air, and winning the Big Air Junior World Championship in Livigno, before dominating the 2024-25 Freeski World Cup season.

While FIS is hopeful that the athlete can participate at the 2026 Olympics if all goes well, the Italian ski organization stressed that her long-term health and career prospects will guide this decision. For now, Tabanelli will focus on rehabilitation, with the hope that her recovery may still allow her a chance to compete safely at the 2026 Milan–Cortina Olympics on home snow.

17-year-old Flora Tabanelli won the World Championship. | Image: FIS Freestyle