The Park City speed sensation is starting in Saturday’s Copper Cup giant slalom
COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. – Lauren Macuga had more than just a moment last season. The 23-year-old from Park City, Utah, went from virtually unknown to suddenly one of the most compelling forces on the World Cup.
Focusing on downhill and super-G, Macuga earned her first World Cup points two seasons ago, escalating to top 10s and wrapping up the 2024 season with a fifth place in super-G in Kvitfjell, Norway.
She fired into last season with a remarkable fourth place in the Beaver Creek downhill and followed up with her first World Cup victory in the St. Anton super-G in January. She then collected the first major hardware of her career – a World Championship super-G bronze medal. She went on to fifth in downhill and narrowly missed another medal with a fourth in Team Combined, winning the downhill portion of the race. She closed out the season with another near-win in the Kvitfjell downhill, taking second by 0.03 seconds.
Macuga is now staring down her first Olympic season. Training at Copper Mountain with the rest of the Stifel U.S. Ski Team over the last couple of weeks, she is planning on making her 2025-26 race debut in Saturday’s World Cup giant slalom as she looks to keep building on the dynamic, attacking skiing that defined her breakthrough year.
Starting in Copper GS
“It’s a mini big goal to be a good GS skier,” says Macuga, who finished an impressive 15th in her first career World Cup GS at Sun Valley last March. “Two years ago, we spent a lot of time training GS. It’s been one of the things that has really brought up my SG game. That’s what helped me make that jump.”
As to the jump – more like a leap – she took last season, the cheerful, bucket hat-wearing athlete says she felt it coming.
“The year before, I knew I had it in me. It was just about finding that consistency,” she says.
Starting No. 27 in her first race last season – the Beaver Creek downhill – Macuga was shocked when she landed in fourth, because she had made what she thought was a significant mistake. The realization of such speed in spite of it gave her a major mental boost. From that moment, she started trusting her ability to push the limit and fight for a clean, fast line. The consistency followed.
“You don’t realize it until it’s achievable. Then it was kind of like a drive. I just kept working hard. I was like, I have always dreamed about this, then all of a sudden, it was like, OK, I just gotta go do it. Get in the gate and do it,” she says.
Special formula
Visualization has been a key ingredient in Macuga’s recipe for success.
“Seeing yourself flying down the hill, you tell yourself, ‘I can do it.’ It drives you to the front of the boot and wanting to go faster,” she says. “A huge advantage to visualization – being able to see yourself ski a race – you basically already run it when you visualize. Every day I go out training, I’m going to use it.”
Macuga’s most important ingredient for success? Having fun. She had to remind herself of that for a quick minute last season when she was feeling pressure after going from her first World Cup victory to Cortina d’Ampezzo (site of this season’s Olympic races) and World Champs.
“That was a big learning experience because going into the next weekend, everyone was asking me if I was going to win again. I got really stressed about it, got sick, and I got to realize I just want to go have some fun,” she says. “Going into World Champs, I was like, alright. I just want to ski my best. I’ve got to have fun. Then, I’m on the podium. That was huge. I’m so glad that happened then.”
It’s a lesson she is taking into this season, including the Olympics. She wants to keep her skiing loose, powerful, and fearless—the same mindset that helped her break into the sport’s elite last winter.
The fun parade
“Of course, it’s going to be competitive,” she says of making the U.S. Olympic team. “But I’m just out there doing my own thing. As long as I have fun, I’ll go where I want to go.”
In case anyone’s wondering about the bucket hats, Macuga’s got 46 in her collection. She bought her first in 2019 and people kept giving them to her, including a police officer at World Champs, suggesting she wear it the next day. She did. Now the hats are part of her identity on the Stifel U.S. Ski Team, and part of what keeps her grounded.
That brand, especially as it coincides with her role on the U.S. Team, is good vibes.
“I’m kind of there for keeping the team spirits high,” she says. “I’m not the team leader yet. It’s something I’m gonna work on in the future. But for now, just bringing that positive vibe everywhere, it’s hard sometimes, but needed. So, that’s my job. I carry all the games and always have a smile on my face.”
About the Author: Shauna Farnell
