Gold Medal Hopeful Lauren Macuga's Season Is Over After a Devastating Injury
The rising U.S. Ski Team star Lauren Macuga has been sidelined just as the ski racing season ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics was heating up.
On Friday, while she was training before the World Cup giant slalom competition the next day at Copper Mountain, Colorado, she crashed, tearing her ACL in her right knee, USA Today reported. The injury will prevent her from racing the rest of this winter and competing in the Olympics.
“It’s me, I’m what’s broken 😞 RIP acl, see you all next year 🫡” Macuga wrote in a social media post. Tap or click below to watch a clip of Macuga’s crash. In typical Macuga fashion, she added some comedic relief to the clip.
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Macuga is a young member of the U.S. team who has shown increasing promise and drawn attention for her bubbly, upbeat personality—alongside her large collection of bucket hats.
Last season, she claimed her first World Cup win in super-G at St. Anton, Austria, and finished the 2024-25 winter as the highest-ranking U.S. skier in downhill and super-G. She also landed 17th overall.
Macuga would’ve competed in her second World Cup giant slalom race last week if it weren’t for the injury. “I’m really excited to show everyone what my GS skiing has turned into,” Macuga said ahead of the race. “I’ve been working really hard on it.”
Her injury reduces the number of U.S. racers with a shot at Olympic hardware. Still, the women’s squad remains strong.
Mikaela Shiffrin, already the winningest racer of all time, claimed her 104th victory during Sunday’s slalom race, which capped off the event in Colorado. The injury that sidelined Shiffrin last season doesn’t seem to be holding her back: she’s won all three of the slalom races she’s entered this winter.
In that same slalom race, Paula Moltzan, another member of the U.S. team, finished eighth, notching one more top-ten finish as the Olympic season gets underway. She also took second at the giant slalom race in Soelden, Austria, in October.
Other talents, like Lindsey Vonn and Breezy Johnson, round out the team.
Vonn’s Olympic season has added heft and could make for a memorable comeback story. She left retirement in 2024. Then, last March, she proved that she remained a podium threat in her 40s when she earned second in Sun Valley’s super-G.
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While American racing fans still have plenty of skiers to root for, Macuga will be missed.
“We’re obviously very sad,” U.S. racer Keely Cashman told USA Today. “This sport is incredibly brutal and there’s a lot of girls that gotten hurt early on, and it’s a terrible thing.”
“That being said, Lauren is the most positive person I’ve ever met in my entire life. She’s already cracking jokes. She’s also, I would say, one of the hardest working people I know. So I have no doubt that she’ll be back,” Cashman added.
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