Albania

Lara Colturi received Albania’s Best Athlete of the Year Award during Ski Excellence Night in Tirana, where athletes, officials, broadcasters and fans gathered to celebrate the country’s growing alpine ski community.

Elvis Toci inherited an Albanian Ski Federation with no elite athletes, limited funding and no ski resort. Today, thanks in part to Lara Colturi's rise, Albania has become one of alpine skiing's most unexpected success stories.