Lauren Macuga’s bubbly personality and 50 bucket hats are propelling her to Olympic glory

Alongside sisters Sam and Alli, Lauren is creating her own road to Milan Cortina 2026.

Lauren Macuga, a U.S. Ski Team alpine racer, strikes the correct mix between understanding when to have fun and when to focus, charge forward, and get things done on the mountain.

The 23-year-old, bubbly Park City, Utah skier begins this winter filled with confidence, coming off a breakthrough season in 2024-25. Macuga raced to her first career World Cup victory in a super-G at St. Anton, Austria, in January, following with a World Championship bronze medal in Saalbach, in February. She added a cherry on top of her triumphs with a second place downhill showing in Kvitfjell, Norway, finishing just 0.03 seconds behind German Emma Aicher, in early March.

It was a winter season that exceeded Macuga’s expectations.

In a video interview from her home in Park City, Macuga describes her maiden podium finish as “wow, this is insane, it can’t get any better,” despite knowing she could reach it.

“And then the World Championship medal – it was a crazy year. I worked very hard for it. I knew I could accomplish it, but I wouldn’t have expected it.”

Medals > Powder Skiing, for Now

Lauren, who recently returned from a Southern Hemisphere pre-season training camp in La Parva and Ushuaia, Chile, confesses she was tempted to take some powder turns. Unfortunately, team priorities and a tight timetable kept her from having fun this time.

“It snowed like 90 centimetres while we we were down there – so it was a lot,” Macuga tells me. “We ended up taking three days off, and when we returned, it was all soft snow.” The men’s team described it as some of their greatest powder skiing, so we were a touch envious.

“We were only there for three weeks and our coaches were like we have to go train, so that was good for me, no matter how much I wanted to go powder skiing.”

Getting Faster With Some Help From Her Friends

Lauren aspires to train and compete with the experienced Stifel U.S. Ski Team, which includes Mikaela Shiffrin, Breezy Johnson, Jackie Wiles, and Lindsey Vonn. Macuga is looking forward to her fourth full season on tour and enjoys seeing how her colleagues push one another.

“It’s cool to see how strong our team is right now – it’s crazy how any one of us could be top dog for the day, like at our training in Chile,” she told me. “I enjoy having the others around to challenge me. You’re constantly trying to get faster, and with this squad, it’s nonstop. It has been some of the best training I’ve received since joining this team.”

Macuga, who is younger and less experienced than the majority of her US teammates, understands what she needs to do to keep moving the needle, seeking to save time on World Cup racing courses.

“You’re trying to improve a little bit each time – for me, the technical part is trying to be as clean as possible and tactically, pushing the line a little bit,” explains Macuga. “As training ramps up closer to the season, I’m trying to mimic race days and that vibe, trying to go 100-percent.”

The Olympics are coming.

Naturally, Macuga’s top objective is to make her first Olympic team for the Milan Cortina Olympic Winter Games, which will take place from February 6 to 22, 2026.

All women’s alpine ski races will take place on the classic Olympia delle Tofane piste in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Macuga is familiar with the slope and environment as she embarks on her fourth and most crucial journey to the Italian Dolomites resort.

“It’s a very playful track, and I think I’ve really started to figure it out – my first year, I won the split up top, and last year, I won the bottom split, so all I need to do is put it all together in one run,” Macuga says of the 1.6-mile Olympia delle Tofane circuit. “It’s a lot of fun jumping through the Tofane Schuss, coming straight down, and then entering the Daytona turn.

“Last season, I was like, ‘Wow, this will be the Olympic venue.'” And all summer, I thought it was going to be insane – the crowds, the atmosphere, and the entire town. It will be awesome, but I don’t want to brag about it. I mean, we have not qualified yet.”

Macuga recently announced a partnership with Stifel, the principal sponsor of the United States Ski & Snowboard Team, as another step towards those goals.

“Stifel is my head sponsor now – they are my main people,” Macuga stated of the new agreement. “They’ve been supporting the United States Ski Team, and it’s made a difference. We have a big season coming up, so it’s exciting to have them on board with me.”

Nearly 50 bucket hats and counting.

As the dedicated racer confidently approaches her first Olympic Games, she is also making a stylish statement. Lauren regularly wears bucket hats before and after races, as well as in ski towns. She will undoubtedly take Italian fashion and elegance to the next level in sophisticated and trendy Cortina.

“We counted the other day, and I believe it was about 40 or 45 that I’m now up to, so it has increased,” Macuga admits of her extensive bucket hat collection. “It’s a fun little collection, and I’m delighted to wear it at every race next season.

“There are a few cool ones. Last season in Sun Valley, one of the staff built me a bucket hat from of his old guest outfit, which was very fantastic.

“All of them have their own stories, so it’s a fun little timeline of my adventures.”

The whimsical hat collection is simply another illustration of Lauren’s ability to quickly move between hard work on the mountain and having a great time off of it.

It (skis) is in the family.

Lauren’s enthusiasm for winter sports stems from her familial background. Her older sister Samantha, 24, is a ski jumper, while her younger sister Alli, 22, is a mogul skier. Their younger brother, Daniel, is also a ski racer.

All three sisters enthusiastically represent the Stifel U.S. Ski Team. There’s possible that Lauren, Alli, and Samantha might all represent their country at the Olympics in Italy.

“It’s always been the dream of ours to all be there at the same time,” Lauren reflects. “I understand how difficult that is, but I am confident it is possible if we all ski our best this season.

“We have a chance, and if not in this Olympics, we’ll be fighting hard for the French Alps (2030 Winter Olympics). We just enjoy what we do, and we’ll all do our best to be there.”

It would be the ideal situation for Lauren and her sisters, who enjoy having fun.

Stay tuned to POWDER for more exclusive stories on the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.