Paula Moltzan of Prior Lake made a bit of history for herself and her country Tuesday at the FIS Alpine world ski championships.
Prior Lake's Paula Moltzan wins gold in team parallel skiing at Alpine world championships
Moltzan beat skiers from three other countries in her first three races then tied with a Norwegian skier in the final and also broke one of her hands.
February 15, 2023 at 5:38AM
She was part of a U.S. foursome that won gold in the team parallel event in Meribel, France, defeating Norway — the defending world champs — 3-2 in the final.
The medal was the first ever for Moltzan, 28, at a senior-level world championship. It was also the first world championships medal for the U.S. in team parallel, and the first gold won by the Americans at this year's championships.
Nina O'Brien, Tommy Ford and River Radamus combined with Moltzan for the victory. The gold did come with a cost. On her final run, Moltzan broke her left hand — the same hand she broke last year — and her status for the rest of the championships is uncertain.
She will skip Wednesday's women's parallel, and a U.S. Ski & Snowboard statement said she would "further evaluate'' whether she will race in giant slalom and slalom later this week.
In team parallel, skiers race head-to-head down a giant slalom course, with the first to cross the finish line earning a point. Moltzan went undefeated through the first three rounds as the U.S. beat Poland, Italy and Canada, then tied with Norway's Thea Louise Stjernesund in the final. Ford won the last race of the event to capture the gold.
RACHEL BLOUNT
Etc.
- The Minnesota women's swimming and diving team will compete in the Big Ten Championships, starting Wednesday through Saturday, in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Gophers have finished in sixth place in each of the past three years. Junior Megan Van Berkom is the defending champion in the 400-yard individual medley.
- Isabella McCauley of the Gophers shot a second round of 4-over 76 and was tied for 19th at 150 after the second round of the Nexus Collegiate at the Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. Minnesota was seventh as a team in the 10-team event at 609. Emma Carpenter of the Gophers was tied for 21st (79-151) and Marianna Mesones was tied for 25th (71-152).
- The four-day MIAC men's and women's swimming and diving championship will begin Wednesday at the Jean K. Freeman Aquatics Center on the University of Minnesota campus. Gustavus is the three-time defending men's champion, St. Catherine has won the past two women's titles.
Lindsey Vonn now has a firm target for her return to World Cup ski racing at age 40: next weekend for a pair of super-G events in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
