Winter Olympic 2026: With just over three months remaining before the Winter Olympics 2026 in Italy, Minnesota native Paula Moltzan has taken a major step toward securing her place on Team USA for a second straight Games. The 31-year-old Alpine skier from Prior Lake opened her World Cup season with an impressive second-place finish in the giant slalom in Solden, Austria, on October 25, marking the best result of her career in that event.
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The podium finish not only boosted her confidence but also brought her significantly closer to meeting the Olympic selection standards. For U.S. Alpine skiers, earning a top-three World Cup result is one of the primary criteria for Olympic qualification, and Moltzan wasted no time checking off that requirement in the very first race of the season.
I’m not going to say I’m officially qualified, but I’ve met one of the Olympic markers already, she said during a Team USA Media Summit press conference. The result, she added, removed a heavy psychological burden. It definitely felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Moltzan admitted that the Olympics were already on her mind before she pushed out of the start gate in Solden.
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As she explained, the pressure is real—there are only four Olympic spots available for U.S. women in giant slalom, while at least six skiers are strong contenders. You want to get that box checked early, she said, knowing how tight the battle for selection can be. What makes her recent success especially meaningful is that giant slalom was not always her strongest discipline.
I wasn’t even a GS skier a few years ago, she said. For most of her career, Moltzan was known primarily for her slalom skills. But over the past two seasons, she has shown remarkable consistency in both technical events—recording 13 top-eight finishes since the start of the last World Cup season. A key moment came earlier this year when she earned a bronze medal in giant slalom at the 2025 World Championships in Saalbach, Austria.
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That podium finish shifted her mindset. That result really reassured me that I belonged in giant slalom, she said, noting that three of her four podiums in 2025 came in that event. Now, she believes her first World Cup victory is more likely to come in GS than slalom, a thought that once would have surprised her. I am a GS skier, she said confidently.
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I finally feel like I belong. I struggled with impostor syndrome for a long time, but not anymore. Moltzan credits her improvement to the depth of the American women’s team, especially in giant slalom. In Solden, Team USA had six women finish in the top 20, with five posting one of the seven fastest second-run times.
Training daily with that level of talent, she said, has pushed her to new standards. “When you’re constantly skiing with people who are faster than you, it forces you to get better. You don’t want to be last in training every day. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Moltzan competed in three events—finishing eighth in slalom, 12th in giant slalom, and helping the U.S.
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Finish fourth in the mixed team event. But she hopes to expand her Olympic program in 2026. In addition to slalom and GS, she wants to be part of the new team combined event, which pairs one downhill racer with one slalom skier. That event also lines up with the announced plans of U.S. superstar Mikaela Shiffrin, who intends to focus on the same three disciplines.
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U.S. national team selections will continue to be based on World Cup results through January 18, with the 2026 Olympic roster finalized shortly afterward. Moltzan said she has postponed any conversations about retirement and feels more motivated than ever. This season is the season I want to see myself on the top step of the podium, she said.
From her early days learning to ski at Buck Hill at age two—where her parents worked as instructors—to standing on World Cup podiums, Paula Moltzan’s journey has been one of persistence, late-career breakthrough, and a growing belief in her own ability. Now, with momentum on her side and Olympic qualification within reach, she stands closer than ever to proving she belongs among the world’s best in giant slalom at the Winter Olympics 2026 in Italy.
Minnesota-born alpine skier Paula Moltzan took a major leap toward earning a place on the U.S. team for the Winter Olympics 2026 with a standout performance at the start of the 2025-26 season. Hailing from Prior Lake, Minnesota, and a specialist in the technical disciplines of slalom and giant slalom, she impressively opened the season.
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