Macuga & Vickhoff Lie Celebrate World Championship Bronze with Family

Family and Friends Celebrate Bronze Medals for Macuga and Vickhoff Lie

Winning a World Championship medal is fantastic, and sharing the podium with good ski friends is even better. Top this off by celebrating the result with people close to you. You have the recipe for Thursday’s wonderful experiences for Lauren Macuga and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie, bronze medalists in the women’s 2025 World Championship super-G competition.

The Perfect Stage

The setting could hardly have been better. Great snow, superb racing conditions, blue skies, and a beaming sun over the race arena on the Zwölferkogel mountain in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria. Nineteen nations competed in the Feb. 6 women’s super-G race, with 14,500 fans cheering in the finish area.

Four nations collected the first individual medals of the two-week event: gold medalist and World Champion Stephanie Venier of Austria, silver medalist Federica Brignone of Italy, and the two bronze medalists, Macuga (USA) and Vickhoff Lie (Norway).

What You Work For

“It feels unbelievable,” Vickhoff Lie told Ski Racing Media after the race. “This season didn’t start as well as I wanted it to, and I’ve been really struggling to get the confidence back.”

Conversations within her team helped define what she needed to focus on to regain confidence.

“These last couple of weeks have been super important for me. Now, I feel like I trust the team, and I trust myself even more every day. This is what you work for—to be at your best on a special day like this,” Vickhoff Lie said.

Sharing Is Caring

At the 2023 World Championships in Courchevel Méribel, France, Vickhoff Lie also tied for the bronze medal in the super-G. That time, she shared third place with Austria’s Cornelia “Conny” Hütter, behind winner Marta Bassino (Italy) and silver medalist Mikaela Shiffrin (USA).

“Sharing is caring,” Vickhoff Lie said with a smile about another championship tie. “I like sharing the podium. It’s better than finishing fourth by 1/100 of a second. I’m happy to share it with Macuga. We have a collaboration with the U.S. team, so it feels like a team win today.”

Mom’s Good Luck Streak

Vickhoff Lie’s parents and a few close friends were in the stands for the super-G. Having them there made the moment even more special.

“It is absolutely fantastic. My mom has a streak—I almost always earn a podium when she is there. So, she just needs to keep coming,” the 26-year-old said with a chuckle.

Helena Vickhoff, Kajsa’s mother, calculated the stats: “She’s had eight podiums, and I’ve been there for four or five of them. Today is another one.”

The Magic Message

On Thursday morning, before the race, Helena sent a rare message to her daughter: “I’m waiting for you in the finish, no matter the result,” adding three hearts.

She usually does not send messages like that, but she remembered her daughter telling her last season at the World Cup Finals in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, “Mom is here, then the race will go well.” That day, Vickhoff Lie finished third.

Vickhoff Lie’s mother did not expect her to earn a podium in this year’s super-G championship. “I thought a top-six finish would be great. But when she skied so well, especially towards the bottom, I thought, ‘this can work out.”

However, the wait was nerve-wracking. “The wait before Kajsa raced, and the wait afterward, was terrible. And then you become incredibly happy, proud, and relieved. Totally incredible! I hadn’t thought she would leave here with a bronze medal,” Helena Vickhoff said, describing the emotions of the race.

“One might think she was close to a silver. But I’m thinking she was very close to finishing fourth. And third is so much better,” she added.

“I sent a message to work today and wrote, ‘I’m quitting. I’m going on tour,’” Vickhoff said jokingly, referencing her lucky streak of attending podium-worthy races.

Emotional Victory

Kajsa’s father, Per Ivar Lie, described watching his daughter earn another World Championship medal as “incredible.” He was not present for her 2023 bronze and felt lucky to experience this moment.

“Even I had teary eyes behind my sunglasses,” he told Ski Racing Media. “My stomach hurt until Lindsey Vonn raced. She was maybe the last one who could change the standings. After that, I started believing in the result.”

Around seven to eight members of Vickhoff Lie’s family and friends traveled to Saalbach-Hinterglemm to watch her compete. Her closest supporters proudly wore their “Kajsa V. Lie” fan t-shirts, and now, even more people will be wearing them. “I’ve handed out 20 t-shirts today,” her father said, laughing.

In his eyes, his daughter’s success comes from her determination. “You need to have it in you, that this is what you really want. It’s all her doing,” he said.

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Multitudes of Fans

While family and friends are dear fans on race day, other supporters also help create a positive race atmosphere.

One of Vickhoff Lie’s loyal fans is Olivia Dafninger of Austria. The 17-year-old enthusiastically cheered for the Norwegian speed racer from the stands during the super-G championship and later near the stage at Thursday evening’s award ceremony.

“I love Kajsa because she is one of the amazing racers, and she’s so sweet and kind. She’s my idol,” Dafninger said excitedly amid the roaring finish area crowd as competitors sped down the final steep pitch at around 100 km/h and crossed the finish line.

Dafninger, who started a fan page for Vickhoff Lie one year ago, is also a long-time fan of former Norwegian speed racer and four-time championship medalist Ragnhild Mowinckel. Mowinckel retired after the 2024 season.

Now, the time has come for new faces on the championship podiums.

Macuga experience

A Medal or Nothing

“I knew I could do it, and I just had to go out and put everything out there. It’s a medal or nothing,” Lauren Macuga said with a smile after winning bronze in her first-ever major international ski racing event.

Macuga, recognized for her USA-themed clothing, bucket hats, boundless enthusiasm, and infectious laughter—along with her impressive skiing—believes in showing the fun side of the sport.

“Growing up, it’s hard when you’re out there in the freezing cold in your spandex suit, or it could be raining,” she said. “It’s such a crazy sport, and it’s a crazy world we live in. I think everyone needs to see the fun side of it. To be able to have the opportunity to come out here, you’ve just got to be smiling through it.”

Going with the Flow

Macuga shared what worked well for her in Thursday’s super-G:

“I tried to be clean, trust the line, and go edge to edge. I’m a tense skier, but I have flow. It may look rigid, but I go turn to turn and carry speed well. That worked for me today.”

Busy Week for the Macugas

While Lauren Macuga has made headlines with her skiing success this winter, the entire Macuga family is navigating a packed schedule of winter sports competitions.

This past week was especially hectic. Amy Macuga traveled to the World Championships to cheer for Lauren (22), while her husband, Dan Macuga, stayed in Utah to support their daughter Alli (21), who competed in a World Cup moguls event in Deer Valley. Meanwhile, their oldest daughter, Sam (23), was in Lake Placid, New York, competing in a World Cup ski jumping event. At the same time, their son Daniel (19) raced in a Nor-Am alpine skiing speed event.

“He’s following in Lauren’s footsteps,” Amy says, proud of the family’s deep ties to competitive skiing.

Balancing the demands of elite-level competition across multiple disciplines is no small feat, but the Macugas have made it a way of life.

The Love of Skiing

Amy and Dan Macuga met through skiing, and their shared passion shaped their family’s lifestyle. “When we were able to move to Utah and live in a ski town, it was like a dream come true for me,” Amy says. She made it a priority to get their four children on the mountain as often as possible, even if those early days were chaotic.

“I would take all four kids out skiing on my own. It would be like a minor disaster with skis lost off the lift, kids peeing in their suits, and I had to pick up kids at lost-and-found,” she recalls with a laugh.

Despite the challenges, those experiences instilled a deep love for skiing in their children. “We just had fun skiing, and the kids really learned to love skiing. Then, they took it to an incredible level, obviously.”

As a mother, Amy embraces the risks that come with her children’s high-level competition. “I’m not concerned about them getting hurt,” she says, confident in their ability to handle the sport’s demands.

Crazy Fun

“I actually don’t have words to explain what it was like,” Amy Macuga said about watching Lauren ski into third place at the World Championships, waiting for the final result, and then celebrating at the Medal Plaza in Saalbach-Hinterglemm that evening.

Traveling to the event alone, Lauren’s mother found her way into a prime viewing spot near the finish area paddock. She ended up standing with a group of Austrian teachers and their students from a nearby town. “We had a big cheering section. It was so fun. All of a sudden, I had all these friends with me,” she told Ski Racing Media, still buzzing with excitement.

“You don’t really know until the end. You can see the results as she’s coming down, but then not knowing the final place… it was almost too much to take in. It was crazy.

“It’s so fun to be here—everyone is so nice, everyone is so excited. It was crazy fun,” she added.

Macugas sharing the Moment

Members of the staff of the U.S. team managed to find Macuga’s mother in the stands and brought her to meet Lauren in the competitors’ zone. The emotions were strong.

“I was so excited to see Lauren, I literally jumped on her!” Amy Macuga shared.

“We’re doing our best to see all these events and these amazing experiences with all our kids. I was very grateful to be there with Lauren. There were so many tears between the two of us. It’s kind of larger than life, honestly.”

Camaraderie

During the finish area ceremony, the podium finishers were awarded a big box of chocolates. Macuga gave her box to her mother. “Everywhere I was walking, everyone was stopping and taking pictures. It was so funny,” Amy Macuga said cheerfully, recalling walking around with the sweets.

“I thought it was cool to share a podium with any country. But when it was Norway, it was special because Sam’s [ski jumping] team is one team with Norway, so it’s a nice connection. It’s a good connection with the ski jumpers there,” she added.

During the evening medal ceremony for the women’s super-G, the four medal winners showed deep emotions and camaraderie across nations.

“It was so cute on the podium, all of them hugging. It’s so good for the younger skiers to see the camaraderie and the support of one another. For the younger kids to understand to support one another. It’s an individual sport, but you need a team,” Amy Macuga pointed out.

A Long Night

After the evening medal ceremony and post-race interviews, it was time to return to the hotel.

“I was so tired, but Sam was ski jumping in Lake Placid, so I was really amped up to watch her. She qualified for the World Cup, which was crazy fun. And Alli was competing at Deer Valley in moguls, so I kept waking up to see how she was doing, and she qualified for the finals. So, it was all around a really great day,” Amy Macuga said about Thursday.

Planning for the Olympics

Amy Macuga keeps a spreadsheet to track her children’s ski events, including plans for the 2026 Winter Olympics. “With three different venues, it’s something to sort out,” she said.

Vickhoff Lie’s mother has also started planning for the Olympics, making lodging and travel arrangements early. Both families plan to be there to support their champions.

Luckily for the two speed athletes, their family fan clubs plan to be on-site for their future championship adventures.