Paula Moltzan Wins Sölden for First World Cup Win

The ski racing season is one race old, and an American already has a win.

Paula Moltzan won the women's giant slalom in Sölden, Austria, on Saturday, Oct 24. It's her first World Cup win. She was fifth after the first run and beat Albania's Lara Colturi by one hundredth of a second on combined time. Germany's Emma Aicher was third, 0.52 back.

It took a while. Moltzan is 32, debuted on the World Cup in 2012, was dropped from the U.S. Ski Team a decade ago, and came into this race with ten podiums and no wins. NBC Sports reports she's now the oldest woman to win her first World Cup race. "It feels like a fairytale right now, pretty unreal," she said.

Mikaela Shiffrin had the fastest first run but was 27th fastest on the second run and finished seventh. Other Americans: A.J. Hurt 13th, Elisabeth Bocock 14th, Nina O'Brien tied for 16th.

Why you should care: the women's World Cup comes to Killington, Vermont, for giant slalom and slalom on Nov 28–29. That's one of the few chances to watch the best racers in the world on a U.S. hill, and you can ski the same mountain the next day.

Try it: New to the mountain? Start with our first resort day guide.