Mikaela Shiffrin reacts to Paula Moltzan securing her first individual World Championships medal in Saalbach

Modified Feb 13, 2025 16:05 GMT

Mikaela Shiffrin expressed her thoughts as American skier Paula Moltzan secured her first individual World Championships medal in Saalbach, Austria. Moltzan finished third in the Giant Slalom race on Thursday.

Italian Federica Brignone broke her own world record as the oldest woman to win an individual Alpine skiing world medal and gold medal, clocking a time of 2:22.71 for the win. New Zealand's Alice Robinson won the silver medal, while Moltzan edged Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund by 0.01s for her first individual World Championships podium.

Shiffrin was delighted over Moltzan's achievement and took to her Instagram stories shortly after the race to congratulate her on the result.

"@paulamoltzan 😭😭🎉🎉🎉

Shiffrin was also slated to compete in the Giant Slalom race but withdrew on Monday, citing her inability to overcome injury fears after crashing during a giant slalom run in Killington last year. She is slated to compete in a slalom race on Saturday and had been cheering for Moltzan during her training session as well.

"Cheering for our GS women from a foggy training session. hup hup hup @usskiteam," she wrote in an earlier Instagram stories post.

The 29-year-old earlier broke the record for most gold medals at the World Championships on Tuesday when she won the first-ever women's combined team title with Breezy Johnson.

"Hard to say if there's some secret" - Mikaela Shiffrin on equalling the record for most World Championships

Mikaela Shiffrin at the Audi FIS Alpine World Ski Championships - Source: Getty

Mikaela Shiffrin is the most decorated skier in World Cup history and is now closing in on becoming the most decorated at the World Championships. On Tuesday, she won her 15th medal at the World Championships, equaling the record for most medals won by any male or female skier.

“It's hard to say if there's some secret. It's like all of these different pieces come together. But every one of my teammates as individuals has gone through so much, such a long journey,” she told Eurosport. "I think sometimes these big events bring out this little extra bit of inspiration for all of us. That's like, I've gotten this far. I've come this far. I've got to give it one last little bit of like 1% or 2% and we'll see what happens.”

Shiffrin also revealed facing self-doubts ahead of her slalom race on Saturday and acknowledged that while the race needed her to be at her best, she would try to get as close as possible to winning the record-breaking 16th World Championships medal.

Edited by Zahid Rashid Dar