Macuga Fifth in Kvitfjell Super-G
For the fifth time in the 2023-24 season, Lauren Macuga earned a personal best finish, this time, breaking into the top five on an impossibly foggy day in Kvitfjell, Norway.
After multiple course holds, and debate whether or not the race would be officially contested, Macuga held onto a fifth place finish, 0.11 seconds off her first podium. With her finish, she solidified her spot in the super-G at World Cup Finals, and unlocked a new a goal, earning her first podium.
“When I started this season, my goals were to earn a top 20 in downhill, and a top 30 in super-G,” explained Macuga. “Never did I imagine that I would sitting in the hot seat for as long as I did, let alone in the top five.”
In Saturday’s super-G, Macuga finished seventh after starting in the top 20 girls for the first time in her young career. Despite worsening conditions, the 21-year-old was able to best herself on Sunday, March 3, with her fifth place finish.
"It was win or lose today with how much fog we got during our run," said Macuga. "I definitely had a little bit, and it was hard to see. I hit a few gates with my head on the way down. But either way I was charging, and I carried speed through the bottom, and that kept me in the game until the end."
Her teammate, Tricia Mangan, was sent down the course during the lowest visibility of the day in bib 40, and miracously managed to break into the top 30, finishing 24th by jumping 16 places, and earning her first Stifel Bibbo Award.
"In the course, I was just yelling at myself to stay focused, and stay in it," said Mangan. "I couldn't see a thing but I didn't want to finish my last World Cup of the season without giving it everything I had, no matter what."
Looking ahead, the Stifel U.S. Alpine women will either head home for U.S. Nationals, or stick around Europe to compete in World Cup Finals if they qualified in the top 25 of their respective disciplines. Finals can be streamed live on skiandsnowboard.live, beginning March 16, in Saalbach, Austria.
