With Mikaela Shiffrin absent, more athletes get the chance to shine. We have seen remarkable results and surprising breakthroughs in both technical and speed branches of alpine skiing.
The American Speed Queens
In the hype surrounding Lindsey Vonn, her stunt as a forerunner, and her comeback, the American public should not miss the fantastic results of Lauren Macuga. Lauren, age 22, is skiing her third season in the World Cup and finished fourth in the only downhill race of the season, pleasing her home crowd in Beaver Creek. In the two super-G events in St. Moritz, she finished twelfth and seventh. This should come as no surprise, as she already owns three top 10 endings from the last World Cup season. Macuga, who is very open about her struggle to overcome fear, is an inspiring figure, and we can expect her to be on the podium soon if she continues like this.
Established stars like Breezy Johnson, Isabella Wright, and Jacqueline Wiles ski in Lauren’s shadow this season. Johnson’s results might be influenced by the break she had to take as a punishment from the USADA. She broke the Whereabouts rule three times within 12 months. This does not make Breezy sanctioned with drug abuse, but the anti-doping rules state that all athletes must be within reach of the anti-doping control at all times. They can fail to comply with this rule twice, and the third time, they get punished.
So, this happened to Johnson, who is only now returning. Johnson, regularly finishing in the top 10 in seasons 2021 and 2022, will now work hard to regain her previous form.
The Female American Technical Specialists
AJ Hurt ranks best among the technical specialists now free from Mikaela Shiffrin’s shade. She ranks ninth in the giant slalom standings and had a great run in the Kranjska Gora slalom before she skied out. Nina O’Brien also performed great at the last racing weekend. But Paula Moltzan is the most consistent of the US technical skiers, finishing in the top 10 almost regularly. Paula Molztan and Nina O’Brien had their breakthrough in Killington, finishing in the top 10 in giant slalom. But their performance was overshadowed by Shiffrin’s crash. A fact that Mikaela herself acknowledged and was very fast with congratulating her teammates on their results even as she lay on the hospital bed.
And What About Men?
River Radamus managed to please his home crowd in the giant slalom and super-G in Beaver Creek with top-10 results. Tommy Ford, however, is not in his best form. Amongst the slalom specialists, the only top 30 finisher from the USA is Benjamin Ritchie. But this 24-year-old finished eighth in the crazy and demanding classical slalom in Madonna di Campiglio and will surely take this as an encouragement into the rest of the season.
The speed skiers are a different matter. Bennet Bryce regularly finishes in the top 10 in the downhill competition. But Ryan Cochran-Siegle pleases the American fans with the best results. He ranked third in the classical downhill in Val Gardena, a slope the Americans love. In the super-G in Val Gardena, Jared Goldberg also proved that at 33, he is still a man to be counted with, ranking second.
However, the latest races on the scary Bormio did not work out well for the American skiers.
As you can see, even with Mikaela Shiffrin’s absence, US alpine skiers provide a show for their fans to watch. As the date of Shiffrin’s comeback is still uncertain, that is undoubtedly a good thing.
