Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team Fourth in Team Parallel

On Tuesday night’s first event of the FIS Ski Alpine World Championships the Stifel U.S. Ski Team fell short of a medal in fourth place. 

“I went out there and did the fastest skiing I could,” said Moltzan. “I just want to show the rest of the world that we are some of the fastest skiers in the world - maybe not tonight but I still believe in all of us and there are a lot more medal opportunities.” 

It was a tough battle in Saalbach for the Team Event as the reigning World Champions (the U.S.) fired out of the start to try and claim a medal. 

“It is really special to be skiing alongside these guys. It truly feels like a team event,” said Nelson. “We rely on each other and it is really cool.” 

The race consists of four heats all to make either the big final or the small final to get a coveted medal. First the Stifel U.S. Ski Team squad was able to knock out Poland. However the next heat would be a test. The U.S. against Norway. The same two teams from the big final in 2023. 

The women’s team came out firing. Paula Moltzan and Nina O’Brien consistently scored the fastest times for the women’s field. On the men’s side it was going to be a fierce battle with Norwegian World Cup winners Timon Haugan and Atle Lie McGrath. Isaiah Nelson fell short to Haugan but River Radamus skied his best run to beat McGrath. 

The next round was against Switzerland. It was once again a battle at the end. Moltzan and O’Brien delivered the green. Nelson with a mistake fell short and Radamus was just off the mark. The U.S. would move on to the small final against Sweden. 

In the small final it was down to the last racer, Nelson. Nelson was pushing extremely hard on track to potentially claim the bronze. At the bottom of the course he pushed just a smidge too hard and straddled. The U.S. would have to ski away with fourth. A very solid effort under the lights for the opening race. Italy would claim gold with Switzerland in silver. 

“I love this event, I love racing with this team,” said Radamus. “Isaiah was our newest member and he brought a lot of heart to this in his first World Championships event ever so very cool for him.” 

The next World Championships event will be a woman’s super-G on Thursday Feb. 5. 

RESULTS
team parallel