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Paula Moltzan’s recent World Cup podium finish highlights her perseverance and success in skiing. The 30-year-old returned to the World Cup tour six years ago and has been a consistent top-5 skier in slalom, collecting two podiums in that discipline over the past three years. Moltzan’s strength and determination have earned her praise from Mikaela Shiffrin, who has said in pre-season interviews, “Watch Paula,” noting how they push each other in training.
Now Moltzan finally has a giant slalom podium on her resume. On Tuesday, January 21, she finished third in the Kronplatz World Cup behind New Zealand’s Alice Robinson and Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami.
Tenth after the first run, Moltzan’s second run was the second-fastest in the field, just behind Robinson’s run.
“I told myself second run that I didn’t want to ski like a baby,” said Moltzan to a European reporter after the race (then had to translate what skiing like a baby means). “I just gave it my all and made mistakes but recovered and kept the speed going.”
This podium finish comes on the heels of several other top-five finishes for Moltzan. So, what’s fueling her skiing this season? For the former college racer, it takes a team.
Family Helps
Anyone attending the Killington World Cups knows Moltzan’s fan club is immense. A whole swath of them—dressed in red-white-and-blue shirts that look remarkably like New England Patriots football jerseys except say “Moltzan” on the back—fill the grandstands. After the races, Moltzan can be seen holding her young niece or the kids she used to nanny and hanging with her tribe.
Although Moltzan was raised in Minnesota, she attended the University of Vermont from 2016 to 2018 and married Ryan Mooney who is from western Massachusetts. So,, a Vermont World Cup is pretty much a home race. The Mooneys also recently purchased a home in Vermont.
In Killington, Moltzan earned her way back onto the U.S. Ski Team in 2018, and she first made the top five in GS this season.
Mooney travels the World Cup tour with Moltzan as her ski tech. However, it’s harder to get the whole family to Europe. When they do make it, good things happen.
“I love sharing it [with them],” says Moltzan. “My first slalom podium [in 2022] was also with them here, so I think they’re starting to turn into my good luck charm.”
The Team Vibe
While family is extra special, so is her team. Just look at Moltzan’s Instagram.
“This one is for the team!” she posted, along with a podium photo from the Kronplatz World Cup. “I couldn’t have done it without them!”
Moltzan regularly populates her Instagram with team pics and words of thanks. Around the New Year, she posted an entire team pic with the caption, “Ending 2024 with some of my favorite people!”
The U.S. women’s tech team even has its own Instagram, @ustechteam, with behind-the-scenes funny, kooky posts and reels for their 5,000+ followers (check out this appreciation for Nina O’Brien). It was started two years ago and resurrected this year by Elizabeth Bocock, who scored her first World Cup points at the Killington GS in November.
Having a bigger team changed from last season when it was mostly Moltzan and AJ Hurt training for and competing in the tech races. O’Brien and Katie Hensien missed the 2023/2024 season due to injury, and Shiffrin sat out over six weeks to recover from a crash in January.
“Having more friends is the best,” said Moltzan before this season began. “When you operate in a really small team, you spend a lot of time with one person. Although it was fun to get really close with the AJ last season, and obviously, we had a pretty successful and productive season together. I am excited to move into a season with more teammates to cheer for and move forward as a whole group again.
“I’m just most excited to have all my friends back.”
The Pay Off
Strong team support is paying off. In the Sölden World Cup giant slalom in October, four Americans finished in the top 11—the best finish for the U.S. as a team in almost 40 years. This was a precursor to future races.
In the 11 tech races this season, at least three U.S. women have finished in the points (top 30) half the time — and 100 percent of the time in this season’s GSs. Only the Italian, Swiss, and Austrian women have shown the same depth and consistency.
Hensien came within a hair of making the podium in Sölden (finishing fourth). O’Brien has clocked her best World Cup finishes ever (seventh in Sölden, sixth in Killington), and Hurt, who finished on the podium twice last season, is competing again after struggling with back pain.
In Kronplatz, O’Brien finished tenth, Hurt 13th, and Hensien 21st.
“It’s amazing day for the team,” said O’Brien after the race, “and I’m really happy to see Paula finally get on the GS podium.”
Four women could qualify for the World Cup Finals if their results hold. Only the top 25 in each discipline qualify, and Moltzan is currently ranked seventh in GS, O’Brien 11th, Hensien 14th, and Hurt 23rd.
However, the 2025 world championships will be held in Saalbach, Austria (Feb 4-16), with the women’s GS on February 13.
As Moltzan said after her third-place finish in Kronplatz, “It’s a good place to be building to go into world champs.”
