Crowley Wins Bronze in Maribor

The Stifel U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team has arrived in Maribor, Slovenia, for the 2025 FIS Para Alpine World Ski Championships, and youngster Audrey Crowley kicked things off on a high note with a bronze medal performance in giant slalom in her first World Championships start. 

“I think that this podium result really represents the hard work I have been putting in this season and during the off-season,” said Crowley. “It means the world to me to earn my first ever World Championships medal because it’s been a lifelong dream of mine. It feels surreal to have achieved this.”

The partly cloudy sky and slight wind throughout the day created a perfect compact racing surface for the first World Championships event, and the U.S. women took advantage, each putting on strong run one performances. The Austrian coach set run two, a more technical course with tricky rollers and quick transitions that caused trouble for many athletes. 

Crowley led the way in the women’s standing class with her bronze medal performance. Kelsey O’Driscoll of the National Sport Center for the Disabled finished eighth in her first World Championships start, followed by Allie Johnson in 12th. In women’s sitting, Saylor O’Brien finished eighth. Laurie Stephens did not finish. 

“⁠I’ve learned a lot about my pre-race preparation through my experience on the team so far,” said Crowley. “I’ve been exploring what works best for me, especially during inspection, and doing my best to feel relaxed in the start. I’ve also learned how to use what I call “excited butterflies” to really charge and be in the best place [mentally] when racing. Going into the slalom race, I’m really trying to ski without expectations. I want to put down good, solid skiing. Mentally, slalom has always been the hardest for me, so I’m trying to go into it having fun and skiing my best.”

On Sunday, the men will race giant slalom, followed by men’s slalom on Monday and women’s slalom on Tuesday.

RESULTS
Women