US ski team shines in world championships ahead of 2026 Olympics

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — A year before the Winter Olympics, the U.S. Ski Team just had a performance to remember.

The women’s squad won medals in four out of five events at the world championships in Austria and also had two fourth places. The Americans finished fourth in the mixed team parallel. And the men just missed the podium with a fourth in the new team combined race.

The only event the women did not win a medal in was the slalom, when Mikaela Shiffrin — the winningest slalom skier in history — placed fifth just behind teammate Paula Moltzan in fourth.

With Lindsey Vonn expecting to be more competitive come the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026 as she regains speed in her comeback from nearly six years of retirement, the U.S. women have multiple medal contenders in every event.

And the men in 2026 will be competing on a slope in Bormio where Ryan Cochran-Siegle has had some of the best results of his career.

At the last Winter Games in Beijing three years ago, Cochran-Siegle won the Americans’ only skiing medal with a silver in super-G while the women didn’t bring home any hardware at all.

“I don’t remember during the time that I’ve been skiing having this much depth,” Shiffrin said. “It’s been incredible to watch that build over the years and kind of culminating this world championships. And I hope it continues to build over the next year and the next several years.”

Cochran-Siegle and partner Ben Ritchie came close to a medal when they finished one spot off the podium in combined.

The U.S. team hasn’t had this many medal threats since the days when Bode Miller, Ted Ligety, Vonn and Julia Mancuso were racing together.

The 40-year-old Vonn saw the potential as soon as she rejoined the team.

“I’m really proud of all of them. Lauren is 22 and she’s got a lot of amazing things ahead of her. And the fact that Breezy’s back after her injury — her knee is pretty bad — the fact that she’s world champion is incredibly impressive,” Vonn said.

Women’s skiing at the Olympics will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, where Vonn holds the record of 12 World Cup wins and where Jacqueline Wiles, another U.S. downhiller, has been on the podium twice.

“I am really excited for the Olympics next year because across the board, we have a lot of talent and a lot of potential,” Vonn said. “And I know we’re going to do incredible things together.”

Added Moltzan, “I think we can medal in every event.”

Cochran-Siegle earned the only World Cup victory of his career in Bormio four seasons ago and also has three other top-five finishes on the demanding Stelvio course.

“I’m hoping that as a team we’re competitive,” Cochran-Siegle said. “Nothing is given, everything is earned. But I’m hoping that it’s a really good Olympic venue.”

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing