Lauren Macuga was ranked 4th in the world for downhill and 6th for super-G when she fell the day before her Olympic qualifying run last November. She had knee surgery twice this winter, halting her gold medal dreams.
Nine months after her injury, Macuga described her recovery process as “quite the journey.”
“The first half of my rehab, like the first three months, I couldn’t do anything, just because it wasn’t developing right,” Macuga said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour” Sept. 10. “And so, it had so much time to heal that it feels great. Everything I’m doing, like, it almost feels normal, which I’m like, kind of grateful for. It sucked at the beginning, but now it’s paying off.”
Despite the challenges she faced last season, Macuga said she's ultimately grown from the experience.
“It’s incredible what you learn through it,” Macuga said. “Don’t get me wrong; terrible situation, terrible timing with the Olympics. But it is cool, like thinking about everything I can take into this season that’ll make me a better athlete.”
Macuga said she anticipates making her bid for the French Alps 2030 Winter Games.
“Going to the Olympics, winning an Olympic medal, is one of the biggest things you can work for ,” Macuga said. “And well, I had that taken away from me this year, but I feel like that over the next four years, it gives me plenty of time to like to refocus on myself, get the ski racing where I want it to be, just in time for that.”
While she’s at it, she hopes to win a downhill, podium in the world championship and compete in the giant slalom.
For now, Macuga is optimistic about her return to the sport. She said she hopes to stand in the start gate at the Beaver Creek World Cup in December.
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