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It was another good week on the slopes and sleds for U.S. winter-sport athletes, starting with ageless wonder – she’s 41 – Lindsey Vonn, who has now won four World Cup medals in five races this season!
Alpine Skiing: FIS World Cup at Val d’Isere (FRA)
● Women/Downhill ~ Bronze: Lindsey Vonn
● Women/Super-G ~ Bronze: Lindsey Vonn
Vonn was upset with her skiing in the Downhill, citing a mistake that might have cost her the win. But on Sunday, she got her first Super-G podium of the season in third place and remarked:
“All in all, I’m not disappointed in my skiing. Yesterday I made a mistake; today, I just had the wrong direction but it wasn’t really a mistake, so I’m happy with it.
“It’s really hard to always be on the podium, so I’m walking away with a smile.”
Vonn was named to her fifth U.S. Olympic Team by U.S. Ski & Snowboard on Tuesday:
She is SO back ?? @lindseyvonn is officially headed to her 5th Olympic Winter Games ????#stifelusskiteam #readyforgold #olympics pic.twitter.com/BBvafMdldx
— U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team (@usskiteam) December 23, 2025
Biathlon:
● Men for Milan Cortina: Campbell Wright, Maxim Germain
● Women for Milan Cortina: Margie Freed, Deedra Irwin
No World Cup podiums yet this season, but U.S. Biathlon has now named four athletes for the 2026 Winter Games; Germain and Freed will make their Olympic debuts in Italy. Wright represented New Zealand at Beijing 2022.
Bobsled & Skeleton: IBSF World Cup in Sigulda (LAT)
● Two-Woman ~ Gold: Kaillie Armbruster Humphries and Emily Renna
Armbruster Humphries got here 31st World Cup in the Two-Woman sled, while Renna got her first World Cup medal. Armbruster Humphries said afterwards:
“Being back on top after three years feels great. This is my first win as a mom, and a first win ever for Emily, this is a special one for us both. I’m proud of how we performed at the start and down the track. The equipment and the MUSA sleds specifically ran really well here.”
Freestyle Skiing: FIS World Cup in Copper, Colorado
● Men/Halfpipe: Gold ~ Alex Ferreira
● Men/Halfpipe: Silver ~ Hunter Hess
The conditions were challenging, with high winds, but Ferreira said he just persevered:
“It’s really difficult because it’s a lot of wind, it’s scary, it’s flat light. I don’t know, I just keep telling myself over and over again, ‘I can do this, I can do this, I can do this’. Then I go out and do it.”
Freestyle Skiing: FIS World Cup in Secret Garden (CHN)
● Team Aerials: Silver ~ Kalia Kuhn, Ashton Salwan, Connor Curran
Luge: FIL World Cup in Lake Placid, New York
● Men/Doubles: Gold ~ Marcus Mueller and Ansel Haugsjaa
● Women/Singles: Silver ~ Ashley Farquharson
● Women/Singles: Bronze ~ Summer Britcher
● Women/Doubles: Bronze ~ Chevonne Forgan and Sophia Kirkby
Make no mistake, the win for Mueller and Haugsjaa was completely unexpected. Said Mueller:
“I feel amazing and to do this at home, there’s just nothing like it, it’s super awesome! I was trying not to think a lot about the second run and just think about the one job we have of sliding. Other than that, I normally feel pretty sick between runs!”
Nordic Combined: FIS World Cup in Ramsau (AUT)
● Women/Mass Start 5 km + 98 m jumping: Silver ~ Alexa Brabec
● Women/Gundersen 98 m jumping + 5 km: Silver ~ Alexa Brabec
What the 21-year-old Brabec has done is hard to explain, after the U.S. had missed the World Cup podium since 2020! She said after Sunday’s runner-up finish, “I am super happy to get second both days. It shows that it is not a fluke.”
Sadly for her, women’s Nordic Combined was not included on the Milan Cortina program.
Snowboard: FIS World Cup in Copper, Colorado
● Women/Halfpipe: Bronze ~ Bea Kim (18!)
On a thinner week of competition so close to the holidays, U.S. entries won 13 medals, including three golds, including an astonishing four medals in luge!
The winter-sport schedule mostly shuts down until the weekend after New Year’s, but the Team USA prospects – so far – look strong for the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games, with World Cup placements all over. More to come in 2026?!
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