Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin congratulate Lauren Macuga and Breezy Johnson on their monumental achievements at Alpine Skiing World Cup

Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin congratulated Lauren Macuga for bagging a career-best fourth place finish in the World Cup downhill event in Beaver Creek. Vonn was the forerunner of the event while Shiffrin sat out due to an injury suffered during the giant slalom race in Killington, Vermont.

Coming out of retirement after a partial knee replacement surgery, Lindsey Vonn joined the US Ski team for the 2024-2025 season. She recently raced two Super-Gs and two Downhill races to win World Cup points, thus qualifying to compete in the 2024/25 Alpine Skiing World Cup circuit. On December 14, she raced downhill as a frontrunner of the event in Beaver Creek but was not part of the main competition.

As Cornelia Huetter, the downhill FIS Crystal Globe winner of the 2023/24 season, won the race in Beaver Creek, US skier Lauren Macuga recorded her career-best and finished fourth. Meanwhile, Breezy Johnson, who was out of the circuit for a year, marked her return with a 13th finish.

The stellar performances of Macuga and Johnson garnered praise from Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.

Vonn's congratulatory tweet read:

"So proud of Lauren Macuga today! PB 4th place!! And welcome back @_BreezyJohnson."

Mikaela Shiffrin, who underwent abdominal surgery to address the injury sustained in Vermont, chimed in to write:

"So fun to watch this…congrats Cougs and @_BreezyJohnson"

Mikaela Shiffrin extended her World Cup medal tally to 99 in the slalom event at Gurgl, Austria on November 23, 2024. The win that edged her closer to the 100th-win mark was her 62nd slalom win. She previously won the slalom season opener in Levi on November 16. Shiffrin's World Cup wins made her the most decorated alpine skier in history with Ingemar Stenmark and Lindsey Vonn trailing behind in 86 and 82.

Mikaela Shiffrin shared a major surgery update amid the Beaver Creek downhill race

Mikaela Shiffrin reacts at the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup - Women's Giant Slalom - (Source: Getty)

Mikaela Shiffrin suffered an MCL sprain in a downhill race at Cortina d'Ampezzo amid the 2023/24 Alpine Skiing World Cup season. As a result, she missed out on 11 races and the overall title. After facing another setback in the 2024/25 season, the 29-year-old posted an update about her injury, detailing the depth of the wound that led to an unexpected surgery.

""Gotta love a curveball… Had a little unexpected surgery on Thursday evening after feeling a bit under the weather. Turns out I had a little cavity deeper than the wound tract that was filled with old hematoma and wasn’t properly draining with a wound vac or normal packing…so we went in to wash it out and close it with sutures and a little JP drain to keep the drainage flowing," she wrote on her Instagram.

In the video, she spoke to people surrounding her and appreciated everyone for their support.

While Shiffrin will not be racing until further announcement, Vonn will take the slopes on 21-22 December, returning to the competition in St. Moritz.