COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colorado – The U.S. women's ski team will be without one of its top medal contenders at the Milano Cortina Olympics.
Rising star Lauren Macuga will miss the rest of the season, including the Olympics, after blowing out her right knee during training Friday morning at the World Cup here. Macuga was supposed to ski the giant slalom Saturday.
"It’s me, I’m what’s broken 😞 RIP acl, see you all next year 🫡" Macuga said in a post on Instagram.
Macuga emerged as the U.S. team's brightest young star last season. The 23-year-old got her first World Cup win, in the super-G at St. Anton, and was second in a downhill at Kvitfjell, Norway. She also medaled in her very first world championships, winning bronze in the super-G.
"That moment I was like, `Oh my gosh, I did that.' It's this one step in this immense dream and I just achieved that," Macuga said last month of winning in St. Anton. "And then it's amazing now to be like, no, that wasn't the step. I want to achieve so much more.
