In the debut of the women's team combined alpine skiing event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Jackie Wiles and Paula Moltzan earned bronze for Team USA, while Breezy Johnson and Mikaela Shiffrin finished fourth after Shiffrin's slalom struggles. The event paired a downhill run with a slalom leg on a challenging course in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Austria claimed gold, with Germany taking silver.
The women's team combined event made its Olympic debut on Tuesday in Cortina d'Ampezzo, combining downhill and slalom disciplines to test versatility among pairs of skiers. Austria's Ariane Raedler and Katharina Huber won gold with a combined time of 2 minutes, 21.66 seconds, while Germany's Kira Weidle-Winkelhann and Emma Aicher secured silver just 0.05 seconds behind. Team USA's Jackie Wiles and Paula Moltzan took bronze, finishing 0.25 seconds off the pace.
Wiles handled the downhill leg for Team USA 2, positioning the pair in fourth before Moltzan delivered a strong slalom run on the technical, Austrian-set course that led to several did-not-finishes. "I didn’t sleep well the last couple of nights, but I felt grateful that I had another opportunity with Paula," Wiles said. "We both wanted it that badly." Moltzan added, "Jackie had set us up in an incredible start position. I took some deep breaths and remembered that pressure is a privilege."
For Team USA 1, Breezy Johnson, fresh off her gold in the individual downhill on Saturday, skied a solid downhill in 1:36.59 to hand Shiffrin a narrow lead of six hundredths of a second. However, Shiffrin faltered in the slalom, posting the 15th-fastest time out of 18 finishers and dropping the duo to fourth. "I didn’t quite find a comfort level that allows me to produce full speed," Shiffrin said afterward. Johnson consoled her teammate post-race, saying, "I know you tried your best and it’s gonna be OK."
The event highlighted Team USA's depth in alpine skiing, following Johnson's downhill victory and amid Lindsey Vonn's injury in that race. Shiffrin's performance added to her Olympic challenges, despite her dominance in World Cup slalom this season. Wiles and Moltzan, who had missed the podium individually, celebrated the shared success, with Wiles noting, "We’ve known each other for almost 17 years now, and... fulfilling those childhood dreams is special."
