撸先生 and Snowboard Club Vail alumna claims GS bronze at FIS Alpine World 撸先生 Championships
Paula Moltzan claimed her first world championship medal on Thursday as Italy's Federica Brignone won gold
Giovanni Auletta/AP photo
Even without defending champion Mikaela Shiffrin, the U.S. walked away with some hardware in Thursday’s giant slalom at the FIS Alpine World 撸先生 Championships in Saalbach, Austria.
Less than a month after claiming her first GS World Cup podium, Paula Moltzan claimed her first-career world championship medal. The 撸先生 and Snowboard Club Vail alumni finished a hundredth of a second in front of Norwegian Thea Louise Stjernesund to finish third with a two-run time of 2 minutes, 25.33 seconds.
“I feel happy, joyful. It’s been kind of a roller coaster of a season with results and with emotions,” Moltzan told U.S. 撸先生 and Snowboard’s Sierra Ryder. “So for it to play out on a really big stage is really emotional.”
Federica Brignone 鈥斅爓ho won silver in the event 14 years ago and was runner-up to Shiffrin in Courchevel in 2023 鈥� finally claimed the gold she wanted more than any other.
“It’s an amazing thing. It was my dream since always,” the 34-year-old told FIS after becoming the oldest women’s GS world champion ever. “I mean, in GS I have this love and hate (relationship) because, for some reason, it’s the one where I’m more stressed. Sometimes I can’t handle the pressure, and I feel so bad in the start. But today was really nice and when I can do it, it’s just amazing.”
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Brignone held a 0.67-second first-run advantage over New Zealand’s Alice Robinson and was 1.24 seconds ahead of Moltzan in third. Overcast conditions and soft snow greeted the 110 starters, but as temperatures dropped slightly, the snow firmed up for the second run. Brignone said the conditions played to her skillset.
“Today, it was really my conditions, and I was able to keep my energy just for the race and be really aware and focused,” she said. “My material, my Rossignols (skis) are working really good with these conditions.”
Robinson wound up 0.90 back, claiming the first medal for her country in the 94-year championship history.
“It’s really awesome in a sport like Alpine ski racing to bring a country like New Zealand to the medal table,” she told FIS. The 23-year-old 鈥斅爓ho claimed her first World Cup podium at 17 back in 2019 鈥斅爈eads the discipline standings this year.
“I fell into ski racing by accident, I came to Europe for the first time when I was 16, and then won a (World Cup) race a year later, and I just had no idea what I was doing. I had this natural, I guess, talent, but I really struggled actually,” Robinson continued. “I struggled for a couple years with no podiums, and I really didn’t know what to do. And I feel like last season and this season, I’ve been just finally breaking through and understanding the sport more.”
Moltzan, who finished 2.62 back from Brignone, also flashed her prodigious talent on the international stage, winning a junior world championship back in 2015. Now at 30, the veteran seems to have found her best form.
“I definitely have an unconventional story, but I’m proud of every step of it and it feels good to add this to the list of accomplishments I have,” Moltzan told FIS. “I think it just takes time. I am a little bit of a late bloomer in the GS department, but, yeah, you just had to chip away. And I’m lucky to have really fast teammates to ski with.”
A.J. Hurt, Nina O’Brien and Kate Hensien finished 13th, 19th and 22nd, respectively, for Team USA on Wednesday. The women’s world championship slate wraps up with the slalom on Saturday.
“It is so much motivation to go into the slalom race with a result like this,” Moltzan said. “It feels good, plus I am finishing the season with a result like this. It’s super motivating.”
