Lauren Macuga skis into her first top 10 from the back of the pack in Austrian World Cup

Park City's Lauren Macuga celebrates during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women's Super G on January 14, 2024 in Zauchensee Austria. Photo: Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images: Courtesy of U.S. Ski & Snowboard

ZAUCHENSEE, Austria — When 21-year-old Lauren Macuga skied into the finish after her super-G run on Sunday, Jan. 14, she was surprised, to say the least. Macuga, who was the 48th racer to ski the course, had skied into tenth – a career-best result for her and the best result for the Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team  in Austria.

“I came through the finish and thought, ‘My run couldn’t have been that good’ because it didn’t feel that good. Then all of a sudden, I heard the announcer say, “Oh my gosh,” Macuga said to the U.S. Ski Team.

Macuga frantically looked around trying to find the leaderboard to see how she finished. “It didn’t even feel real.”

As the last Stifel U.S. Ski Team member to cross the finish line on Sunday, Macuga didn’t expect to be the only woman who posted a top 30 time, especially since her run didn’t feel as solid as her time.

“[My run] was everything I’ve been trying to do, and I did it,” she said. “It didn’t feel great, but that’s just kind of how it went. I was trying so hard in the right way, and it just gave back, and it was fast.”

The Park City native had her first World Cup start in 2021 and has only posted a top-30 result thrice since. Her best finish in a super-G was 17th in Val d’Isere early on in the 2023-24 season.

“I’ve been working so hard, and it’s showing,” she exclaimed. “It’s that little bit of confidence to be like, I know that I’ve done it, and now I can do it again.”

Macuga’s ability to break into the top 10 on Sunday is quite the feat, especially given the tight times posted by all of the competing women throughout the day. Macuga was just 0.58 seconds behind the day’s winner, Lara Gut-Behrami. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter finished second, 0.25 seconds back, while her teammate, Mirjam Puchner, finished third, 0.26 seconds back.