Rebecca is the granddaughter of Johann Passler, an Italian pioneer of the discipline and Olympic medalist. She is the first athlete disqualified for doping at the Milan Cortina Games
And sudden flashcold as a gust from the Anterselva Valley, shatters the quiet of the Olympic wait and abruptly rewrites the script towards Milan-Cortina. The name of Rebecca Passler from South Tyrol, one of promises of the blue biathlon, bursts into the news a few days before the opening of the Games and does so in the most painful way: the 24-year-old from South Tyrol tested positive in an anti-doping test, first official case linked to the five-circle event.
Letrozole
The substance found is letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor which triggered the precautionary suspension and, effectively, the end of his Olympic dream before he could even live it. Born in Brunico in 2001 and raised sportingly in Anterselva, Rebecca Passler is the daughter of a land that breathes biathlon and granddaughter of Johann Passler, Italian pioneer of the discipline and Olympic medalist. A heavy surname, carried with discretion and daily work, far from the noise.
Passion for skiing since childhood
Skis on his feet at eight years oldfollowing in the footsteps of her older sister Greta, has built her own path step by step, highlighting especially in the youth categories a solidity that has allowed it to emerge on an international level.
His palmarès speaks for itself: individual and relay silver at the Youth World Championships in Lenzerheide 2020, then gold in the relay and silver in the sprint at Soldier Hollow in 2022. Achievements that opened the doors of the World Cup, with her debut in Östersund in November 2021 and a progressive growth, culminating in her last season, the one that should have accompanied her towards the first Olympics of her career.
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The eleventh places in Annecy-Le Grand Bornand and Oberhof had certified the leap in quality and strengthened his presence in the Italian group. Outside of competitions Passler has always remained a simple girl, linked to friends, family and her passions, such as beauty care and nail art, far from the spotlight and shouted social media.
Precisely for this reason the story hits even harder: a young career, built with patience, suddenly suspended and left to await clarifications and decisions. For her, who dreamed of making her Olympic debut in front of her home crowd, and for Italian biathlon, which loses an important player in the most delicate moment, for the moment there remains only a long silence full of questions.
