Mikaela Shiffrin, Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs, and others reacted as Lauren Macuga secured the first World Championships medal of her career. The American won a bronze medal in the Super-G race on Thursday.
Macuga finished .24s behind Austria's Stephanie Venier, who won the gold in 1:20.47. The 22-year-old was racing in her first World Championships and became the youngest skier to medal in 13 years.
Rennae Stubbs congratulated the American skier on the victory and commented on the US Ski Team's Instagram post:
"🙌🙌🙌🙌"

Mikaela Shiffrin, who has overwhelmingly supported Macuga since her debut, was joyous about her first medal. She expressed her happiness with a couple of emojis on her Instagram stories, posting:
"😭😭."
Lindsey Vonn, who also competed in the race and registered a DNS after dislodging a pole of the 11th gate, was joyous over Macuga's victory and wrote:
"So so happy for you, Cougs!!! Such a badass!"

Earlier last month, Macuga won her first World Cup race in St. Anton, marking her first podium finish. The 22-year-old had her mother present in Saalbach as she skied down the course for her maiden World Championships medal and said afterward (via parkrecord.com):
“Oh my gosh, to have my mom in the finish here — it’s so fun and such a cool experience.”
Mikaela Shiffrin is recovering from an injury she suffered last year and didn't race in Thursday's Super-G event. She will be in action in the giant slalom and slalom on Feb. 13 and 15, respectively.
Mikaela Shiffrin won't team up with Lindsey Vonn at the World Championships

Lindsey Vonn expressed her desire to form a team with Mikaela Shiffrin for the newly introduced combined event at the World Championships. The two are the most decorated female skiers in World Cup history with a combined 181 wins, and Vonn said she would love to team up with Shiffrin.
“I think it would be probably one of the coolest things in ski racing to have 181 World Cup victories on one team...I don’t know if she’s even competing in the combined. But if there is a chance to compete with her, I would absolutely love to," she said (via Associated Press).
As Vonn feared, Shiffrin announced on Monday that she wasn't 100% fit yet and needed to focus on her individual races.
“I need to keep my energy focused on preparing for the giant slalom and slalom races during world championships, and will not be able to participate in the team combined,” she said.
The 29-year-old has won an impressive 14 medals at the World Championships including seven gold medals so far, and would be eager to add to the tally when she races next week.