From Park City to Cortina: Utah ties run deep on U.S. women’s Olympic alpine team

Lindsey Vonn reacts in the finish at World Cup Finals held in Sun Valley, Idaho last year. Vonn will anchor the U.S. Women's alpine team at the 2026 Olympic Games. Photo: Mike Lawrence // U.S. Ski Team

PARK CITY, Utah — When the U.S. women’s alpine team kicks out of the starting gate in Cortina d’Ampezzo this month, the Olympic spotlight will shine far beyond Italy’s Dolomites. For Park City and Utah’s ski racing community, the 2026 Games will feel close to home.

Nearly half of the 11-athlete U.S. women’s roster has a direct connection to Utah — through hometown roots, training programs or years spent developing on Wasatch slopes. From a living legend calling Park City home to rising speed specialists shaped at Snowbird and Rowmark, the state’s imprint on the Olympic team is clear.

All five women’s alpine events — downhill, team combined, super-G, giant slalom and slalom — will be contested on Cortina’s Olympia delle Tofane, one of the sport’s steepest, most demanding venues. It’s a fitting stage for a U.S. team blending championship pedigree with a new generation forged in Utah’s race programs.

Lindsey Vonn: A Park City return, on the world stage

Lindsey Vonn’s name needs no introduction, but her Park City connection adds a new layer to her return to the Olympics.

Now a Park City resident, Vonn has remained involved in the local community through the Winter Sports School and the Lindsey Vonn Foundation, even as she reignited her racing career. At 41, she returns to the Olympic stage as a legitimate medal contender in downhill, super-G and the team combined. The “speed” events  are perfectly suited to her aggressive, technically fearless style.

Vonn will be competing with a completely torn ACL – she sustained the injury a week ago competing in a World Cup downhill in Switzerland. Though risky, if there is a track Vonn has complete confidence on it’s Cortina’s downhill track where she’s won six World Cups and has been on the podium in both super g and downhill 20 times throughout the course of her career.

Validated by recent World Cup victories and consistent podium-level speed, Vonn enters Cortina as both a favorite and a stabilizing force for a younger U.S. team — a veteran anchor with unfinished Olympic business.

Isabella Wright: Snowbird to the Olympics

Salt Lake City native Isabella Wright represents the next wave of Utah-developed speed talent.

A product of Snowbird’s race program, Wright made her Olympic debut at Beijing 2022 and has steadily climbed the World Cup ranks. She broke through in 2023 with a seventh-place finish at the World Cup Finals in Andorra and now owns multiple top-10 downhill results on the world’s biggest stage.

This season, Wright placed 13th and 16th in downhill at St. Moritz and sits 25th in the World Cup downhill standings — numbers that signal growing consistency and confidence. Her presence underscores the strength of Snowbird’s development pipeline and Utah’s continued relevance in producing elite speed skiers.

Breezy Johnson: Utah-built, World Champion

Breezy Johnson may hail from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, but her elite racing foundation was built in Utah.

A graduate of Rowmark Ski Academy in Salt Lake City, Johnson arrives in Cortina as the reigning world champion in downhill and a gold medalist in team combined. Known for peaking at major championships, she gives the U.S. another serious downhill medal pathway and adds depth to the team combined lineup.

Katie Hensien: Park City roots, technical precision

Katie Hensien’s path also runs through Park City.

Though originally from Washington, Hensien’s parents have lived in Park City for more than two decades, and her development included time at Rowmark Ski Academy. A technical-event specialist, she is the 2022 NCAA slalom champion and a core member of the U.S. women’s tech group.

Hensien’s breakthrough came during the 2024–25 season, highlighted by a career-best fourth place and a top-12 slalom finish. She also qualified for her first World Cup Finals at Sun Valley, reinforcing her emergence as a reliable scorer in slalom and giant slalom.

Mary Bocock: Another Snowbird product on the rise

Mary Bocock, a Salt Lake City native, further illustrates Utah’s growing influence on women’s speed skiing.

Another Snowbird race program alum — and a Rowmark skier — Bocock burst onto the scene by winning the 2022–23 NorAm Overall title. That success earned her World Cup starts, including speed races in Cortina and Kvitfjell.

Her best World Cup result to date is 18th in super-G at St. Moritz, and she currently ranks 27th in the discipline worldwide. Still early in her career, Bocock represents the next generation of Utah-developed athletes gaining traction on the Olympic circuit.

A Wasatch imprint on the Olympic slopes

Alongside stars like Mikaela Shiffrin, Paula Moltzan, Nina O’Brien, Jacqueline Wiles, Keely Cashman and A.J. Hurt, the Utah-connected contingent gives the U.S. women’s team both depth and identity.

Another athlete to highlight, though she is sitting out the season with a knee injury, is Park City’s own Lauren Macuga. Macuga raced in Park City Ski & Snowboard’s program, went to the Winter Sports school and had a outstanding season on the World Cup last year. She also won a bronze medal in super-g at World Championships in 2025. She was considered a favorite for the 2026 Olympic Team.

From Park City to Salt Lake City, Snowbird to Rowmark, the Wasatch Mountains have quietly shaped a roster capable of contending across disciplines — particularly on the steep, unforgiving slopes of Cortina.

As the women’s alpine schedule unfolds Feb. 8–18, Park City won’t just be watching another Olympics. It will be watching its own.

Women’s Olympic Alpine Schedule — Cortina d’Ampezzo

Downhill: Feb. 8

Team Combined: Feb. 10

Super-G: Feb. 12

Giant Slalom: Feb. 15

Slalom: Feb. 18