Beijing 2022: USA women’s alpine tech press conference highlights

YANQING - Comments from USA women's Alpine skiers Paula Moltzan, Nina O'Brien, A J Hurt and Katie Hensien at a press conference in the Yanqing Olympic Village on Saturday.

Paula Moltzan (USA)
On realising her childhood dream:
“I think every kid in sports dreams of the biggest moment in their life, qualifying and making it to the Olympics. My mom quoted to me when I was nine years old I told her I was going to the Olympics. It took me a while to get here, but 18 years later, (at) 27 I’m at my first Olympics and it’s super surreal.”

On her expectations for the competition:
“Everyone dreams big, right? We’re at the Olympics; if your dreams aren’t scaring you, you should probably re-evaluate.”

On making her Olympic debut at the age of 27:
“I don’t feel like I'm that old. I've got really young teammates so I often forget that I'm 27. I feel like I’ve definitely had a different path to the Olympics than most, and I'm hoping that is opening eyes to a lot of girls that it doesn't have to be one way, it can be a couple of different ways.

“That’s what I’m hoping to inspire the next generation to do; there's not one path to go, you can take as many detours and pit stops as you like, but you can still get there.”

On Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) and her success:
“She has always kind of walked her own path, and she’s never really stayed in between the boundaries of what athletes can do. She’s always pushing to be better, taking the extra run, working harder in the gym – not that everybody’s not working hard, but you can see that she’s going the extra mile. It’s really inspiring to see and watch and follow in her steps.”

On staying in the Olympic Village and how it is similar to college dorm life:
“I was lucky enough never to live in a dorm at UVM (the University of Vermont). I went to school being too old, so I never lived the dorm life. So it’s kind of fun. I don’t often get to room with these girls and so that we're all in one suite together is really awesome and I feel like it's an extra bonding experience.”

On their Opening Ceremony experience:
“We took some selfies with Shaun White (USA). A little fan-girling action over here.”

On the games they play to relax:
“We have everything. One of our favourites is definitely Spikeball, we play a lot of Spikeball when the weather permits. If not, we literally own every card game you could ever imagine, and we probably know the rules to every other card game that we don’t have.”

Nina O’Brien (USA)
On USA success in women’s giant slalom:
“I think that when the US was leading the GS (giant slalom) standings for a while it kind of blew all of our minds. I don't think that was a goal that we really set out to achieve, or realised could be possible.

“After Solden (the world cup in October 2021) we found ourselves at the top, and I think that was really encouraging and a cool moment for us as a team.

“Mikaela (Shiffrin) obviously has been leading the way with some really incredible results, but it's been fun battling it out with each other and everyone else and believing that we also have speed to bring to the table that’s world class and it's really exciting.

“Whether I have a good run or not, I know that anyone of these girls can throw down and so as a teammate that's pretty inspiring as well.”

On Mikaela Shiffrin’s success:
“Her resilience is really unique. Probably somewhat unparalleled, regardless of whether it’s a race, or things going on in her life. She tends to rise to challenges and always brings an incredible fighting spirit, so I think that certainly sets her apart from others.”

On their team:
“We are a family, truly. We live together for six months of the year, and that’s not just sleeping in rooms, that’s every meal, training on the hill, but really all those hours off the hill as well. We’re playing games and we’re there for each other in the highs and lows, especially during this Covid year. We are each other’s support system.”

On staying in the Olympic Village and how it is similar to college dorm life:
“As someone who has lived in dorms I would say yes, it feels a lot like living in dorms in college. Between going to the dining hall and chatting with people over a meal, or even just living as a group of four in one room. It's been really fun. We moved all of our wardrobes together so they look like lockers, and we’ve had a good time trying all of our Team USA kits on together.”

AJ Hurt (USA)
On the venue:
“I really like the snow here, I think it’s awesome. Coming into it I think we were a little bit concerned, we were like 'Oh, it’s never snowed here before, or it doesn’t snow here often, it’s all man-made snow'. But it’s great, the snow surface is perfect really.

“There was probably 12 of us training like six runs and there wasn’t a dent in the track.”

Katie Hensien (USA)
On Mikaela Shiffrin’s success:

“It's such a privilege and honour to actually ski with her, be a teammate with her and really see what top-level skiing and even an athlete is. Being under her wing sometimes is definitely a privilege. I think every day we can learn something from her, and it’s eye-opening to see that possibility in an athlete and her level of skill and performance is just unparalleled sometimes.”

Article courtesy of Olympic Information Service