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≡ WORLD ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS ≡
U.S. Ski & Snowboard named its 21-member World Championships team that begins competition in Saalbach (AUT) on Tuesday, through the 16th of February, headlined by superstars Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn.
Shiffrin returned to competition on 30 January in France after a November crash that required surgery. Vonn retired due to too many injuries, but after yet another operation, felt better and compiled three top-10 World Cup finishes in her first races in five years. But the U.S. has other medal possibilities as well, including eight others who have won World Cups in the past season and a half:
2024-25 FIS Alpine World Cup medalists/Men:
● 1: Jared Goldberg (1 SG silver)
● 1: Ryan Cochran-Siegle (1 DH bronze)
In 2023-24:
● 2: Bryce Bennett (1 DH gold, 1 DH bronze)
● 1: River Radamus (1 GS bronze)
2024-25 FIS Alpine World Cup medalists/Women:
● 2: Mikaela Shiffrin (2 SL wins)
● 1: Lauren Macuga (1 GS win)
● 1: Paula Moltzan (1 GS bronze)
In 2023-24:
● 15: Mikaela Shiffrin (9 wins, 2 silvers, 4 bronzes)
● 2: AJ Hurt (2 SL bronze)
● 1: Jacqueline Wiles (1 DH silver)
● 1: Paula Moltzan (1 SL bronze)
Shiffrin has won, at 29, 14 Worlds medals (7-4-3) from 2013-23. Vonn, 40, had a fourth-place finish in the St. Anton Super-G on 12 January and has eight Worlds medals from 2007-19 (2-3-3).
The U.S. team has 11 men, eight of whom have had prior Worlds experience; this will be the fifth Worlds for Bennett, Cochran-Siegle, and Goldberg. Among the 10 women, this will be the ninth for Vonn, seventh for Shiffrin, fifth for Moltzan and fourth for Breezy Johnson, Nina O’Brien and Wiles.
In terms of Worlds medal winners, beyond Shiffrin and Vonn, five members of the 2023 gold-medal-winning Mixed Parallel Team squad are back: Katie Hensien, Moltzan, O’Brien, Radamis and Luke Winters.
The Worlds are being shown on the SkiandSnowboardLive streaming service (subscription), with NBC showing four sessions of delayed highlights:
● 08 Feb. (Sat.): 3 p.m. Eastern for women’s Super-G
● 09 Feb. (Sun.): 1 p.m. Eastern for women’s Downhill
● 15 Feb. (Sat.): 3 p.m. Eastern for women’s and men’s Giant Slalom
● 16 Feb. (Sun.): 4 p.m. Eastern for women’s and men’s Slalom
FIS has live timing and full results here.
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