Mikaela Shiffrin was full of praise for fellow American alpine skier Paula Moltzan after her exemplary performance and third-place finish in the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, on Saturday. The impressive result comes just a few days after Moltzan’s crash in a giant slalom event.
The result marked Moltzan’s seventh-career World Cup podium, and the event also saw Nina O’Brien and Elisabeth Bocock attain top-15 finishes. The event further demonstrated Team USA’s preparedness for the 2026 Winter Olympics, scheduled to take place next month.
Mikaela Shiffrin Highlights Paula Moltzan’s Showing in Siant Slalom
Moltzan endured a difficult time in Semmering last week, but showcased her quality in Gora with a podium finish. Swiss skier Camille Rast claimed the win, followed by Austria’s Julia Scheib and Moltzan. Rast posted an impressive time of 2 minutes, 0.09 seconds, with Moltzan narrowly missing out on the win. The American was only 0.47 seconds off Rast’s time.
After the race, Shiffrin hailed Moltzan for her resilience and praised her for coming back and managing to clinch a top-three finish so soon after her crash. In a post on Instagram stories, the 30-year-old Colorado native wrote:
“Tbh I have no idea how you did that after last weekend, but lets just bow down to the toughest [clapping emojis].”
Shiffrin was also in giant slalom action in Gora on Saturday, but could only manage a fifth-place finish in the event. The decorated skier will hope to continue her impressive run of form in the slalom event on Sunday, having won the first five slalom World Cup events of the season.
“I think ‘happy’ and ‘satisfied’ are different because I would like to be faster but I’m taking steps and I feel very good with that. It’s pretty incredible to be here one year later and to be in the mix with the fastest women right now,” Shiffrin said about her performance (via Ski USA).
Regarded as one of the greatest alpine skiers of all time, Shiffrin has a total of 106 World Cup wins to her name. The two-time Olympic gold medalist will also have her sights set on continuing her exemplary run of form at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
Despite being a firm favorite, Shiffrin failed to win a medal at the previous edition of the Winter Olympics in 2022. She failed to finish in the slalom and giant slalom events and managed a ninth-place finish in Super-G. Shiffrin won the gold medal in the giant slalom and the silver medal in the combined event at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She also won gold in the slalom at the 2014 Winter Olympics, at the age of 18.
Joining Shiffrin at the 2026 Winter Olympics will be the likes of Moltzan and Lindsey Vonn. Other Team USA names to watch in Milan-Cortina include Ryan Cochran-Siegle and Alex Hall. The Winter Olympics will commence on February 6, 2026, and conclude on February 22.