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Skiing

Mikaela Shiffrin earns 100th World Cup win, joins exclusive century club

February 27, 2025 by Tara S

By: Nick Zaccardi | NBC Sports

Mikaela Shiffrin has earned a record-extending 100th career Alpine skiing World Cup win, coming back from major injury to join a short list of athletes across all winter sports with triple-digit victories.

Shiffrin won a slalom by 61 hundredths of a second over Croatian Zrinka Ljutic combining times from two runs in Sestriere, Italy, on Sunday.

Minnesotan Paula Moltzan took third. It’s the third time of Shiffrin’s record-tying 155 career Alpine World Cup podiums that she’s joined by another American.

Shiffrin crossed the finish line and took multiple glances in the direction of a scoreboard before dropping down and lying on the snow. Moltzan helped her up, and they hugged

“I didn’t know if it said fourth or first. One hundred times later, and I still can’t find the darn scoreboard,” Shiffrin told media in Sestriere. “My feeling is blank a little bit. It’s overwhelming. It’s too hard to find thoughts for it. But that’s also a very peaceful moment because normally I’m only thinking. So sometimes it’s nice to have a moment where I can’t think.”

After a podium ceremony, a 60-second highlight video was shown of Shiffrin’s celebrations and victory interview clips over her career.

An interviewer then said, “After all you’ve been through these last months, 100 World Cup victories.” Shiffrin, through tears, thanked her, thanked her teammates, thanked her competitors, her coaches and the fans.

Shiffrin returned to the top in her sixth race back since missing two months following a Nov. 30 race crash. She sustained a puncture wound that tore oblique muscles and came very close to piercing organs. Shiffrin had been bidding for win No. 100 in that Nov. 30 giant slalom, leading after the first run before crashing in the second run.

“I have wondered in the last weeks so many times whether it is the right thing to come back,” she said. “We didn’t take the easy way, that’s for sure, but in the end, in order to keep moving forward and to finish this recovery, I have to be in start gate, and I have to experience these emotions when they’re good and when they’re bad. That’s really important. Today was just an amazing day in the middle of some really tough months, but I’m very thankful for this day.”

Shiffrin returned to competition Jan. 30 and placed 10th and fifth in her first two slaloms back (plus won the World Championships team combined with Breezy Johnson with the third-fastest slalom run).

She skipped the giant slalom at the World Championships, citing mental obstacles specific to GS coming back from the Nov. 30 crash. She returned to GS racing in Sestriere on Friday and Saturday.

“I do not yet feel entirely myself…but I do feel enough of myself to be here…and for now, that is enough,” she posted before her first GS races back.

On Friday, she placed 25th. On Saturday, she was 33rd in the opening GS run, not qualifying for the 30-skier second run for the first time since 2012 (when she was 17 years old, two months before her first World Cup win). She then trained slalom.

Then on Sunday, she had the fastest opening slalom run by nine hundredths over Ljutic. She was fourth-fastest in the second run skiing on battered snow as the 30th and final starter.

“I’m not there (in GS),” she said. “I feel like the mountain ahead of me to climb is steep and long, and if I get there, when I get there, it will be very sweet. For now, I just have to take this day and be grateful for it because it’s a small moment in the middle of many tough moments that makes me feel that maybe I can be good again.”

Shiffrin is commemorating No. 100 by partnering with Share Winter Foundation to raise $100,000 for learn to ski and snowboard programs for youth who otherwise would not have access to the sports.

“I know that not everyone is blessed with the good fortune I have come across; in fact, very few are, and over the years, the lack of accessibility for a diverse group of people in winter sports has funneled us into a very not diverse community,” Shiffrin said in a press release. “I see this 100 victory conversation as an opportunity to bring more eyes and, ideally, more passion to the sport. It’s incredible, of course, but I’d like to turn the spotlight to something bigger than me.

“Helping Share Winter bring more kids to the mountain is really meaningful. It’s far bigger than me winning 100 races. This will make that 100th victory one of the most meaningful to me.”

Over the last 12 years, Shiffrin has dealt with a range of hardships, both physical and mental, and returned to the top of podiums each time.

“This is probably the last moment that I would expect to achieve this, actually” she told Swiss broadcaster SRF. “It seems like even returning from injury, and in the last years of my career, there’s always expectation that I’m going to be on the top step. And for me, when I look around at the other athletes, at my competitors, it sometimes seems impossible that I can win these races. They’re so strong.”

In March 2023, she broke Swede Ingemar Stenmark’s Alpine record of 86 World Cup wins. Now she has reached a 100-victory milestone that few athletes have achieved across all winter sports World Cups.

Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjørgen won 114 individual World Cup races before retiring in 2018 with a record 15 Winter Olympic medals.

Swiss skier Conny Kissling won 106 times in the 1980s and early 1990s, with most of the victories coming in an event combining moguls and aerials (which, separately, are Olympic disciplines) and acro or ballet (which is not an Olympic discipline).

Swiss Amelie Wagner-Reymond earned 164 World Cup victories from 2007-23 in telemark skiing, which is not an Olympic discipline.

Shiffrin reached 100 before her 30th birthday on March 13 by starting her tally early, dominating slalom for most of the last 12 years (63 World Cup slalom victories are 28 more than any other woman in history) and also winning the most giant slaloms in women’s World Cup history (22). She stayed relatively injury-free in a high-risk sport until two crashes in 2024.

The women’s Alpine skiing World Cup continues next weekend with two downhills and a super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway. Shiffrin is next expected to race the following weekend in Are, Sweden.

“Just to stand in the start gate and take the mentality (of) what I want to do is what I actually do, that’s not been totally connected (recently), but today it was,” Shiffrin said, “and that feels good for the soul.”

Filed Under: Skiing, Women's Sports Tagged With: Mikaela Shiffrin

X Games Aspen 2025: Chloe Kim wins Superpipe gold as Red Gerard defends slopestyle title

January 29, 2025 by Tara S

By Evelyn Watta | Olympics

Italy’s Miro Tabanelli made history with the world’s first 2340 to claim the men’s big air title, while Canada’s Frank Jobin won the X Games Street Style gold, and Nick Goepper dominated the men’s ski superpipe.

hloe Kim of the United States reacts after a run in the Women's Snowboard Superpipe during Day Three of the X Games Aspen 2025 at Buttermilk Ski Resort on January 25, 2025 in Aspen, Colorado. Kim won the event.

(Getty Images)

Chloe Kim continues to be a dominant force.

The two-time Olympic gold medallist earned her eighth X Games title in style with another stellar run in Aspen, Colorado, tying fellow American Shaun White for the most superpipe gold medals in X Games history.

The 24-year-old snowboarder returned to the Aspen slopes to defend her title alongside teammates Maddie Mastro and Maddy Schaffrick.

Kim and Mastro went 1-2 in qualifying for the finals.

Mastro thrilled the crowds with a huge score of 89.66, but that was before Kim’s first run, which secured her a historic title with 93.33 points. Japanese snowboarder Sara Shimizu finished third with 85.66.

“This one means a lot if I’m being completely honest. I wish I would’ve put down my final run but I’m so happy nonetheless,” said Kim, who has won 10 medals at the X Games since her debut at age 14.

  • X Games Aspen 2025 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live
  • X Games Aspen 2025: All results – complete list

A winter wonder in Italy awaits! 🏂❄️🎿 Ticket-inclusive hospitality packages for the Olympic Winter Games in Italy go live on 6th February 2025! 🎫 Don’t miss your chance to secure Milano Cortina 2026 tickets to the most sought-after sporting sessions paired with luxury service, accommodation, and more.

Miro Tabanelli lands the world’s first 2340, Americans rule men’s ski superpipe

The day had begun with another American Olympic champion on top of the podium in the men’s snowboard slopestyle.

Red Gerard delighted his hometown fans with an incredible final run that included a switch boardslide on the up-flat-down rail, switch backside triple 1620 and a backside 18 to retain his title for the second year in a row.

“Coming back as the X Games gold medallist is obviously awesome, but a full 365 days goes by, I feel like I have short term memory loss, I forget how it goes, and I always feel like a newbie when I come here,” he said after his 92.66 points that edged out his idol Canadian three-time Olympic bronze medallist Mark McMorris who took second place with his best of 90.33. Japan’s Taiga Hasegawa 81.00 was the third best.

“It’s 10 of the best riders in the world, so it’s really hard to get back to the top of the podium, so I’m just happy with how the week went.”

Canadian Frank Jobin ended the X Games snowboard street style course on top, ahead of the American pair of Nate Haust and Benny Milam who took silver and bronze medals respectively.

American’s swept the boards in the men’s ski superpipe. Nick Goepper, a six-time slopestyle medallist in slopestyle, earned his first men’s ski superpipe title at the X Games with his best of 92.66. Defending superpipe gold medallist, Alex Ferreira, finished in second with 92.00 with Hunter Hess third with 85.66.

Italy’s rising star Miro Tabanelli brought the curtains down after 72 hours of exhilarating action with a memorable ride in the men’s ski big air. Miro landed the world’s first known 2340 in ski contest history, a fantastic ending to the weekend for the Tabanelli family after his younger sister Flora won women’s ski big air on Friday [24 January].

Tabanelli scored 98.00 with with New Zealand’s Luca Harrington settling for silver with a score of 97.00. Matej Svancer’s 96.33 earned the Austrian bronze.

X Games Aspen 2025 results – Saturday, 25 January

Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle

  1. Red Gerard (USA) 92.66
  2. Mark McMorris (USA) 90.33
  3. Taiga Hasegawa (JPN) 81.00
  4. Marcus Kleveland (NOR) 46.33
  5. Liam Brearley (CAN) 31.66

Women’s Ski Slopestyle

  1. Tess Ledeux (FRA) 95.00
  2. Olivia Asselin (CAN) 92.66
  3. Anni Karava(FIN) 90.66
  4. Megan Oldham (CAN) 88.66

Women’s Snowboard Street Style

  1. Iris Pham (USA)
  2. Telma Sarkipaju (FIN)
  3. Jaylen Hanson (USA)
  4. Grace Warner (USA)

Men’s Snowboard Street Style

  1. Frank Jobin (CAN)
  2. Nate Haust (USA)
  3. Benny Milam (USA)
  4. Liam Brearley (CAN)

Women’s Snowboard SuperPipe

  1. Chloe Kim (USA) 93.33
  2. Maddie Mastro (USA) 89.66
  3. Sara Shimizu (JPN) 87.33

Men’s Ski SuperPipe

  1. Nick Goepper (USA) 92.66
  2. Alex Ferreira (USA) 92.00
  3. Hunter Hess (USA) 85.66
  4. Finley Melville-Ives (NZL) 80.00

Men’s Ski Big Air

  1. Miro Tabanelli(ITA) 98.00
  2. Luca Harrington (NZL) 97.00
  3. Matej Svancer (AUT) 96.33

Filed Under: Olympics, Skating, Skiing, X Games

How Lauren Macuga’s skiing family woke up to (and shared in) her first World Cup win

January 15, 2025 by Tara S

By Nick Zaccardi

Dan Macuga felt the buzz of his phone in bed around 5 a.m. on Sunday. The caller ID read “Lauren.”

“Why would she be calling me?” he wondered. “I was like, oh man, something happened.”

He answered the phone. On the other end, eight time zones ahead, was the crackling voice of his middle daughter. He will never forget it.

“Dad,” Lauren Macuga said, “I won.”

She was speaking minutes after her first Alpine skiing World Cup victory, a super-G in St. Anton, Austria.

A year earlier, the best finish of Lauren’s budding career had been 17th. She steadily improved since, strengthened in particular by gym work over the summer.

On Sunday, she made her first World Cup podium a victory (by a dominant margin of 68 hundredths of a second). At 22, she became the youngest American to win a World Cup speed race (downhill or super-G) since her idol, Lindsey Vonn, in 2007.

Lauren Macuga

American Lauren Macuga earns first Alpine skiing World Cup win

Lauren Macuga became the youngest American to win a World Cup speed race in 18 years.

  • Nick Zaccardi

After breaking the news to her dad, Lauren found time amid celebrations to coordinate a FaceTime call with him, plus her mom Amy and her two sisters: fellow 2026 Olympic hopefuls Alli (a moguls skier) and Sam (a ski jumper).

They could become the third set of three siblings to compete on the same U.S. Winter Olympic team, according to Bill Mallon of the OlyMADMen. If two make it, it will be the first time siblings compete on the same U.S. Winter Olympic team in distinctly different sport disciplines.

Alli connected to Sunday’s group call while at the Salt Lake City International Airport. She was about to fly to the East Coast for her own competitions.

Alli, the youngest daughter at 21, made her first World Cup moguls podiums last season — a third place, followed by a second place.

Sam, the oldest daughter at 23, was in Norway on Sunday before heading to Japan for this weekend’s ski jumping World Cup stop.

Dan grew up playing basketball. Amy was a competitive water skier. But their children gravitated to the snow through Park City’s Get Out & Play youth sports program, a legacy project of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

They all attended the Park City Winter Sports School, which has an April-through-November academic calendar, allowing student-athletes to train and compete in the winter. Many future Winter Olympians went there, including Alpine skiing gold medalists Ted Ligety and Julia Mancuso.

“All my kids are very competitive, but not with each other,” Dan said Monday morning. “Now, of course, if they’re playing a board game over Christmas, yeah, there’s going to be some competition there, but they celebrate each other.”

There is another Macuga: son/brother Daniel, a 19-year-old competitive Alpine skier, was at home in Park City on Sunday morning.

“I can’t remember exactly how he put it, but he came downstairs, and he’s like, ‘Yep, I’m going to hear about that at my next ski camp,’” Dan said, laughing. “It was just a full-blown family celebration. That’s the best part about the way all these kids compete is they celebrate each other.”

Each sibling posted on social media, too.

“She’s a legend, a fashion icon, AND A WORLD CUP WINNER,” Sam wrote, along with an image of Lauren wearing a trademark bucket hat, a T-shirt with pictures of her cat, Kodiak, and what appears to be a necklace of hot dogs.

“It’s her teammates. It’s because she was a wiener that day,” Dan said. “So they made her a hot dog necklace just to celebrate. It’s her team having fun.”

Brother Daniel posted, “Get her a head sponsor.”

That referenced Lauren’s racing helmet. She attached a question mark on it before the St. Anton races. The world’s top ski racers — a group that now includes Lauren — typically have sponsor logos at that spot.

Her father said that Lauren has been trying to find a sponsor. They recently spoke with retired Olympian Steven Nyman, who sold his helmet space on eBay in 2006.

Dan, who has worked in sales and marketing for more than 30 years, then suggested the question mark to attract attention.

He expects her to have a helmet sponsor “fairly soon,” though likely not in time for the next races this weekend at the 2026 Olympic site of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

The Macugas will continue crisscrossing the globe the rest of this winter.

The first full week of February is a big one: Lauren is in line to make her senior world championships debut in Austria. Alli could compete in a home World Cup in Park City. Sam could be part of the first women’s ski jumping World Cup ever held in the U.S. (in Lake Placid, New York). Daniel is slated to race on the Nor-Am circuit in British Columbia.

Alli summed up the family feeling with her post on Sunday morning: “NOOOO WAYYYY,” she wrote. “LAURENNNNNN IM AMAZED YOU BADASS”

Filed Under: Skiing

CATARINA MACARIO, CHLOE KIM AND MORE: 20 FEMALE ATHLETES TO KNOW IN 2022

December 21, 2021 by Tara S

Top 22 Female Athletes of 2022

As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to look forward to the year ahead in sports.

With the Winter Olympics in February, March Madness on the calendar and a landmark NWSL season to come, women’s sports fans are in store for an exciting year.

Here are the 20 athletes to know or get reacquainted with in 2022: 

[Read more…] about CATARINA MACARIO, CHLOE KIM AND MORE: 20 FEMALE ATHLETES TO KNOW IN 2022

Filed Under: Athlete Spotlight, Golf, Gymnastics, Hockey, Lacrosse, Olympics, Paralympics, Racing, Running, Skiing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Team USA, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, Women in Sports, Women's Basketball, Women's Golf, Women's Hockey, Women's Soccer, Women's Sports, Women's Tennis, Women's Wrestling

Skier Has Sights Set on Paralympics After Overcoming Setbacks

February 13, 2021 by Tara S

Paige VanArsdale Paralympic skier

by: Arielle Orsuto

Paige VanArsdale is a skier with cerebral palsy. After suffering a concussion in 2017 during her Paralympic training, she faced more obstacles than she imagined.

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Carving through white powder while representing the Stars and Stripes — it’s been a goal for Paige VanArsdale for nearly her whole life.

“I’ve dreamed of it ever since I started skiing when I was three years old,” she said.

[Read more…] about Skier Has Sights Set on Paralympics After Overcoming Setbacks

Filed Under: Athlete Spotlight, Inclusive Sports, Paralympics, Skiing

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