- Paula Moltzan achieved a career-best finish, winning the silver medal in the giant slalom.
- Three American skiers, including Mikaela Shiffrin and Nina O’Brien, placed in the top six.
The United States women started the Olympic season off with a bang.
Paula Moltzan led three Americans in the top six of the giant slalom in Soelden, Austria, winning the silver medal. Mikaela Shiffrin was fourth, missing the bronze medal by just 0.31 seconds, while Nina O’Brien was sixth. It was a career-best finish for Moltzan in the GS.
‘For our (U.S.) team, this was a spectacular day,’ Shiffrin said.
Shiffrin started 20th in the first run, well behind the favorites, because the crash in the GS at Killington, Vermont, last season and the PTSD that followed cost her points used to determine start order. But the career leader in World Cup wins showed she will again be a force to be reckoned with, finishing sixth in the first run.
Shiffrin briefly had the lead in the second run, but was passed by winner Julia Schieb of Austria, Moltzan and Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami.
‘I’m fourth and I’m over the moon. It’s a really, really good step and I have improvements to make, still,’ Shiffrin said. ‘I have a lot of work to do. I’m excited to do it. – Every single part of today was a monumental step.’
This is the strongest squad the Americans have had in years, in both the tech and speed races, and this kind of performance reminds everyone of that. The U.S. skiers included.
The Americans had six skiers make the second run, the most they’ve had in a GS race in 30 years, according to Olympics.com. Katie Hensien and A.J. Hurt finished 12th and 13th, respectively, and Elisabeth Bocock was 19th.
‘The bronze medal in GS (at last year’s world championships) kind of kick started my GS,’ Moltzan said. ‘To have a medal just reminds me that you do belong here.’
And there’s no better time, with the Milan Cortina Olympics just four months away.