Lara Colturi remains loyal to Albania: The skiing prodigy has decided not to change nationalities, thereby securing her place at the 2026 Olympics. Read here to find out why she is turning her back on Italy.

The decision has been made: Lara Colturi, one of the greatest talents in alpine skiing, will continue to compete for Albania in the upcoming 2025/26 World Cup season. This was confirmed by the Albanian Ski Federation in a recent announcement.

Colturi, who was born in Turin, Italy, and is the daughter of Olympic champion Daniela Ceccarelli, had originally planned to switch back to her country of birth, Italy. However, such a move would have required the approval of the Albanian federation – approval that was not granted. Without this approval, Colturi would not have been allowed to compete in international races for one year according to the rules of the International Ski Federation (FIS) – a risk that would have been too great, especially in view of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. This was reported by the US platform SnowBrains, which specializes in background reports on winter sports, among others.

In order to continue her sporting career without interruption, the 18-year-old has now decided to continue competing under the Albanian flag. Colturi caused a stir last season with several top placings: among other things, she came second in the slalom in Gurgl, second in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora and third in the giant slalom in Åre – achievements that also earned her international respect, as documented in her profile on Wikipedia.

The Albanian Ski Federation expressed its delight at the continuation of the collaboration. In a statement, it emphasized that without Albania’s support, Colturi would not be the athlete she is today – it wants to continue supporting her development and sees her as a figurehead for its own program. SnowBrains also quotes sources close to the federation as saying that it is “pursuing its own interests” and is “determined to keep Colturi on the team.”

With her decision, Colturi not only remains one of the most promising young athletes on the World Cup circuit, but also secures her participation in the 2026 Olympic Games – albeit not for Italy, but once again for Albania.

Image:
Instagram Account / Lara Colturi