FILE PHOTO: Nov 26, 2022; Lake Louise, Alberta, CAN; Matteo Franzoso of Italy after his crash during men's downhill race in the FIS alpine skiing World Cup at Lake Louise. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
(Reuters) -Italian Matteo Franzoso has died following a fall during a training in Chile at the weekend, his country's winter sports federation (FISI) said on Monday.
The 25-year-old downhiller was taken by helicopter to the intensive care unit of a clinic in Santiago and induced into a coma after the accident at the La Parva track on Saturday.
"It is a tragedy for the family and for our sport," FISI President Flavio Roda said in a statement.
"A drama that brings us back to the state of mind of just under a year ago, when Matilde Lorenzi passed away. It is absolutely necessary to do everything possible to ensure that such episodes do not happen again."
Franzoso finished 28th in the World Cup super-G at Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy in 2023, his best performance at the sport's highest level.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing by Ed Osmond)
