Latest news with #U.S.Ski&SnowboardTeam
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mikaela Shiffrin earns historic 100th World Cup race win at slalom in Sestriere, Italy
Mikaela Shiffrin reached a historic milestone in Alpine skiing on Sunday, winning the 100th World Cup race of her career at the slalom event in Sestriere, Italy. Shiffrin, 29, is the first skier — male or female — to achieve triple-digit victories in World Cup races. She beat Croatia's Zrinka Ljutic by 0.61 seconds, while USA's Paula Moltzan finished third. Additionally, Shiffrin tied Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden for an all-time World Cup record with her 155th top-3 finish. She surpassed Stenmark's record of 86 World Cup race wins in March 2023. Earlier that year, Shiffrin overtook Lindsey Vonn's record 82 World Cup victories for a female skier. 100 counting!! 💯🥵 #MIK100 #stifelusskiteam @MikaelaShiffrin — U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) February 23, 2025 'Everybody's been so nice and so supportive," Shiffrin said after the race. "All of my teammates and competitors and coaches and the whole World Cup and I'm so grateful, thank you. And the fans, thank you so much." "I think it's pretty special to share it with Paula, my teammate," she added. "I could hear everybody cheering from the start when she went and I thought, 'OK, it's like a day of training, it's like we just keep pushing,' and she pushes and I push and I made it achievable." MIKAELA SHIFFRIN HITS 💯!!! 🏆🔥 History made as she claims her 100th career victory! Absolute legend. 👑⛷️#FISAlpine #Wintersport #WorldCupSestriere #MIK100 — FIS Alpine (@fisalpine) February 23, 2025 Shiffrin's historic win came nearly three months after suffering a puncture wound in her left oblique resulting from a crash during a giant slalom race Killington, Vermont. Two weeks ago, Shiffrin withdrew from the World Alpine Skiing Championships in Saalbach, Austria, citing post-traumatic stress disorder from her November crash. "Honestly, I really didn't anticipate experiencing so much of this kind of mental/PTSD struggle in GS from my injury in Killington. Like always, I tried diving into the challenge, hoping to get there by Worlds," she posted on Instagram. "I figured my passion and longing to compete would outweigh the mental barriers. Maybe that will be the case over time, but I'm not there yet," she added. "Coming to terms with how much fear I have doing an event that I loved so dearly only 2 months ago has been soul-crushing." Mikaela Shiffrin gives an update on her recovery from an injury she sustained at the Killington World Cup race. — NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) December 15, 2024 She appeared to still be battling the effects of her crash when she finished 33rd in the giant slalom race in Sestriere and failed to qualify for the second run. It was the first time in more than 12 years that she didn't qualify for the second run in a giant slalom or slalom event. "I do not yet feel entirely myself… but I do feel enough of myself to be here," she posted on social media. "And for now, that is enough." Competing in Sestriere turned out to be more than enough two days later, achieving the history she was temporarily denied.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lauren Macuga wins super-G bronze at world championships, continuing breakout season
Lauren Macuga made quite the impression at her first world championships. Macuga tied for third in the super-G on Thursday at worlds in Saalbach, Austria. That makes her the first American since 1993 to win a medal in her first world championships, according to NBC. "Oh my gosh, so good,' Macuga said. 'It won't settle in for a while but I keep looking back up at that screen and I'm like, `Wow, my name is there.' It's crazy.' COUGS. YOU'RE A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDALIST!!Lauren Macuga is a BRONZE medalist in the women's super-G!!! 🥉🇺🇸💪This is her first World Championships start…Let that sink in. #stifelusskiteam — U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) February 6, 2025 The world championships bronze medal continues what's been a breakout season for Macuga, 22. She won a pair of super-Gs at an event at Copper Mountain in December, then won her first World Cup title last month in the super-G at St. Anton, Austria. Macuga also has three top-10 finishes in the downhill, including a fourth place at the famed Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek, Colo. "Coming into this year, I was just hoping to make the team," Macuga said. "Then after that (World Cup) win, I was like, `Wow, OK. I know I have it in me.' Now I can just go do it again. … it's just cool to see that I'm figuring out how to do it more and more." Her timing couldn't be better. The Milan Cortina Olympics are exactly a year away, with the Opening Ceremony on Feb. 6, 2026. More: With one year to go, Milan Cortina hoping to build on enthusiasm of Paris Olympics Starting 14th, Macuga knew the time she needed to get on the podium. She was aggressive throughout the run, posting the fastest time on the opening section, and kept her composure on the jumps. She got a little bit off her line toward the bottom of the course but quickly recovered. She finished tied with Kajsa Vickhoff Lie of Norway. The two were 0.24 seconds behind Stephanie Venier of Austria, who won her first medal in super-G. Federica Brignone of Italy was third. Lindsey Vonn, who came out of retirement after having a partial knee replacement last spring, did not finish the race, skiing out after hooking her arm around a gate. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lauren Macuga kicks off first world championships with super-G bronze
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Stephanie Venier wins Alpine worlds super-G; American Lauren Macuga ties for bronze
Austrian Stephanie Venier was the surprise super-G winner on home snow at the World Alpine Skiing Championships, while American Lauren Macuga tied for the bronze medal in the first senior worlds race of her career. Venier, 31, prevailed by one tenth of a second over Italian Federica Brignone, the world's top overall ski racer this season. Brignone, 34, broke Lindsey Vonn's record as the oldest woman to earn an individual world medal. Macuga and Norway's Kajsa Vickhoff Lie were 24 hundredths behind in Saalbach. Venier, ranked ninth this World Cup season in the super-G, earned her second world championships medal — eight years after taking downhill silver. She is the oldest woman to win a world super-G title and the oldest Austrian woman to win world championships gold in any individual event. ALPINE SKIING WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule Macuga, a 22-year-old having a breakout season, is the youngest skier to win a world championships medal in a speed race (downhill or super-G) since Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami took super-G silver in 2013. She is also the first American to win a medal in her first world championships race since 1993. "Coming into this year, I was just hoping to make the team," Macuga said on Peacock. "It's just cool to see that I'm figuring out how to do it more and more consistently." Come for the Lauren Macuga bronze, stay for mama cougs' reaction #stifelusskiteam — U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) February 6, 2025 Vonn skied out after smacking and dislodging a pole of the 11th gate with her right arm and helmet, 24 seconds into her run. She said she mistimed the gate because she changed to different ski boots from what she used in past races. She is still fine-tuning her equipment after spending five years in retirement. "I just went in a little bit too early to the turn, and I caught my shoulder and my arm on the gate," Vonn said. "I don't think I've ever done that in my career, so I was a little bit confused. I'm fine. My arm was numb when it happened. I'm getting feeling back, so I'll be fine for the downhill on Saturday." Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist and 82-time World Cup race winner, is skiing at her first worlds since 2019. Her goal is to make a fifth Olympic team next year and retire for good after the Milan Cortina Games. Vonn began considering a comeback after partial right knee replacement surgery last April. An initial goal was to be a non-competitive forerunner at worlds. She returned to World Cup competition Dec. 21 and in seven races on the circuit has best finishes of fourth (super-G) and sixth (downhill). "I had no preparation. I didn't expect to be here," she said. "Literally every day is a test. I'm trying new things. I'm trying to get everything in a position to where next year I'm competitive. I know my skiing is there. I just need to get all of the other pieces put together to make a whole picture, and right now I don't really have that. Again, I think I've done pretty well for what I have, but I just need a little bit more time." Vonn said Wednesday that she had "a bad cold or flu" on the eve of worlds. "I kind of like the challenge," she said after Thursday's race. "I'm sick, and I'm low energy, but I need to be able to focus when I'm in the starting gate, and I did that. Obviously, I made a mistake, but I was prepared today." Worlds continue Friday with the men's super-G, live at 5:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. Gold: Stephanie Venier (AUT) -- 1:20.47 Silver: Federica Brignone (ITA) -- +.10 Bronze: Lauren Macuga (USA) -- +.24 Bronze: Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR) -- +.24 5. Sofia Goggia (ITA) -- +.30 6. Emma Aicher (GER) -- +.52 7. Ester Ledecka (CZE) -- +.63 8. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) -- +.70 9. Elena Curtoni (ITA) -- +.76 10. Cornelia Huetter (AUT) -- +.9119. Breezy Johnson (USA) — +1.7324. Keely Cashman (USA) — +1.99DNF. Lindsey Vonn (USA) Lindsey Vonn on World Championships: 'I'm ready to compete for a medal' Lindsey Vonn returns to the World Alpine Skiing Championships after a five-year retirement. Nick Zaccardi, Nick Zaccardi,
