Paula Moltzan discusses her ‘unconventional’ ski racing experience, reconnecting with Mikaela Shiffrin, and global ambitions at age 30

In this exclusive conversation, the Minnesota native reflects on her best season yet and the lessons she’s learnt since earning her spot on Team USA a few years back.

“I’m just getting started,” Paula Moltzan adds with a sparkling smile.

After an unconventional route in competitive alpine skiing, including college competitions, the USA tech expert has discovered the consistency needed to be a consistent podium contender.

Moltzan, now 31 years old, has had her greatest season yet, scoring two World Cup podiums and a bronze medal in giant slalom at the recent World Championships in Saalbach. It was her first individual award in a major senior competition.

This season, the USA women’s team has achieved outstanding success, including victories by Mikaela Shiffrin, Lauren Macuga, and Breezy Johnson.

“We have a lot of positive momentum right now,” Moltzan told Olympics.com.

Moltzan is the top-ranked US skier in giant slalom (6th), followed by Nina O’Brien, AJ Hurt, and Katie Hensien, all in the top-20.

“Any given day, one of those girls could be smoking me in training, and then the next day it could be somebody else,” Moltzan told me. “It’s just always pushing the environment of fast skiing, and I think for me in GS, that’s been one thing that’s really helped me this season to make that next step.”

Competing for a globe has become more accessible, even at an older age in alpine skiing. “That is definitely on my long-term goal list, and I’m hoping that next season or the following season, I can find that consistency and make it happen. Who knows? Perhaps in GS or slalom. Federica Brignone, Italy’s World Cup leader, is now dominant, and despite her age, I believe it is still feasible. She has nearly half of her victories beyond the age of 30!”

Paula Moltzan won her first medal in a major senior event at the Saalbach 2025 World Championships.

Paula Moltzan’s Journey to Rediscover Her Love for Skiing

Nothing seems impossible anymore for someone who once questioned her future in the sport.

Moltzan was dropped from the US squad after a bad World Cup performance, less than a year after winning the junior world slalom title in 2015.

She did not give up, however, and chose to race at the college level instead.

“I definitely would say it’s unconventional in a ski racing journey to be on the national team, go to university and then come back to the national team,” Moltzan told CNN.

“I was 22 years old.” I wasn’t sure what other possibilities were available. I couldn’t afford to live independently for a year, so I enrolled in university. I was fortunate to attend the University of Vermont.

It was a successful experience, highlighted by an NCAA slalom championship, and Moltzan learnt the value of teamwork.

“I think getting asked to leave the team was the best thing that ever happened to me because then I was able to go and rediscover my love for ski racing in a competitive but also really supportive atmosphere,” she told me. “I was a member of an athletic squad that competed as a group every weekend. You learnt to be a team player and encourage other athletes as it became less about you. I’ve learnt a lot.

After rejoining Team USA in 2018, Moltzan learnt not to take things for granted: “I did a lot of growing up in college, and I believe it paid out in the long run. Now, you might argue that I’ve been able to be coachable, a good teammate, and flexible, and I believe you simply learn to be appreciative. I am grateful for this second opportunity as a World Cup skier, as well as the ability to practice with fast skiers every day, which was not available in college.

Now 30, the Minnesotan may reflect on her teenage follies with a fresh and honest perspective.

“I don’t know if I was spoilt, I think I just felt entitled,” she told me.

“I was 17 years old, the best-ranked athlete in my age group outside Mikaela, and I felt that the US ski team should be doing more for me, or at least giving me more opportunities to practice with faster athletes. But maybe I was a little mad! So I’m not sure where I got the idea that I was so good, because I clearly wasn’t.

Gym exercises in the barn and encouragement from spouse Ryan Mooney

Moltzan has improved and expanded his athletic abilities since rejoining the World Cup team.

“I feel like my strength and conditioning was the last piece to click in my career,” the actress stated. “I came from being a young athlete that had some raw, natural talent and maybe didn’t have to work as hard in the summer.”

During the 2020 Covid pandemic, the Minneapolis-born skier established a gym under her husband’s parents’ woodshed. She recalls the challenging workouts. The first year, there was no cement on the floor. The second year, there was no power. Then it gradually became finer. But it was obviously a little tough.”

Moltzan and her husband Ryan Mooney, a former skier who attended the prestigious Greenmount Valley Ski School, relocated to Vermont in 2022 to access superior training facilities.

“Ryan doesn’t get enough credit,” Moltzan added. “Ryan attended university with me when we were there, and he has been tuning my skis ever since. I doubt I could have made a return without him.”

Mooney has supported his wife as a coach, chauffeur, travel agent, and photographer. He has been there for her throughout her career, both good and bad. And he’s absolutely my harshest critic. And, yes, it’s difficult when the person you care about the most is really critical of you, but it also motivates you to improve and be the best you can be.”

Moltzan worked as a whitewater raft guide throughout the summer to cover Mooney’s travel expenses, as having him near her was crucial.

2015 Getty Images
QUEENSTOWN, NEW ZEALAND – AUGUST 21: First place Mikaela Shiffrin (R) of the United States and and second place Paula Moltzan of the United States celebrate on the podium after the Womens Night Slalom during the Opening Ceremony for the Winter Games NZ at Coronet Peak on August 21, 2015 in Queenstown, New Zealand. (Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)

Paula Moltzan crossed paths with Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Shiffrin.

While Moltzan now lives on the East Coast, she still values her Midwestern roots: “We’re nice to everyone, and I think that’s one of the things I’ve learnt about being Minnesotan.”

Moltzan, like her idol Lindsey Vonn, grew up in the US ski’slalom factory’ of Buck Hill, south of Minneapolis, which shaped her as a skier.

“It’s a pretty humble start,” she remarked of the small resort with its 300-foot (93-meter) steep drop. “I’m not from a large mountain, so I don’t spend much time free skiing. I actually did spend time at the gate. We had so many repetitions at such a young age, and I believe it prepared us for success. You learn at a young age what is a good turn and what is a negative turn.”

Moltzan worked with renowned Austrian instructor Erich Sailer, who continues to support him now. Despite being 99 years old, he and his wife continue to text me after every positive outcome.

Mikaela Shiffrin was a significant character in Moltzan’s ski path.

“Mikaela and I are eleven months apart. I don’t remember too many times in my ski career when she wasn’t present, and she was extremely good from a young age,” Moltzan remarked. “The last time I may have beaten her in a ski race was in the Whistler Cup when I was 13 or 14. So she’s always been quite competitive, fast, and hard-working.”

During the early World Cup years, the two skiers were on the same team and had coaches, but their paths eventually diverged: “She wanted to establish her own team, distancing herself from the team setting. But then I left the US ski team, so there’s this divide in our connection, just because we’re each doing our own thing.”

Shiffrin has, over time, restored her bond with Moltzan and the team.

“I think she’s gone through her own things like losing her dad, getting injured, and I feel like some of those things have maybe helped us get closer and that she’s more willing to talk about it or be supportive in other people’s hard times,” Moltzan told me.

“Now that she’s experienced some tougher races in GS, she realises that a team is really helpful to support on the hard days and that not every day of ski racing will be easy.” I believe that being around the team of girls has helped her a little bit, and she’s reached out for support, which is good to feel wanted by someone and to be there for her because she’s so successful.”

SESTRIERE, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: Mikaela Shiffrin of Team United States takes 1st place, Paula Moltzan of Team United States takes 3rd place during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Women’s Slalom on February 23, 2025 in Sestriere, Italy. Shiffrin celebrated her 100th World Cup victory, making her the first athlete to reach this milestone. (Photo by Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images)

Paula Moltzan is looking forward to the home finals in Sun Valley.

Moltzan, despite her recent success in giant slalom, considers herself a ‘tech specialist’ and will not prioritise any discipline ahead of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

“I started out as a slalom skier, and I had a coach who basically told me I wouldn’t be a successful World Cup GS skier, and I’m happy to have proved him wrong,” she added with a smile, preferring not to reveal the identity of the coach.

The 30-year-old is a fan favourite at the next World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, where a large audience is expected to cheer on one of the strongest USA teams in recent years.

“The whole US women’s team has so much talent, and literally at any given start, one of the girls could win a race,” Moltzan told ESPN. “That’s just so motivating and so unique, and it’s been so long since the era of Lindsey (Vonn) and Julia (Mancuso) were dominating the women’s stories.”

Moltzan won the national giant slalom title on the same slopes in 2024, and he is now looking to finish the season in style.

“As an American in a very European dominated sport, to be able to compete on home soil is just really awesome,” she informed the crowd. “The crowd is great, and you’re very motivated because they’re there to watch you and want the Americans to succeed. “Having a strong team in the American Finals is a unique opportunity to cap off a successful season in America.”