Macuga sisters insist dream to represent Team USA at an Olympic Games is not over

The Macuga sisters did not make it to the 2026 Winter Olympics, and that’s OK with them, well, sort of. 

After dominating the world stage in their respective disciplines — Alli, 22, competes in mogul; Lauren, 23, in ski alpine; and Sam, 24, who competes in ski jumps — they became hopefuls for the Milano Cortina Games. But the dream of all three sisters competing in 2026 was swiftly crushed when Alli and Sam were not selected for Team USA.

There was still a chance for Lauren, who took first place in the Super-G at St. Anton am Arlberg in January 2025, making her the first American woman to win the event at the venue and the youngest since Lindsey Vonn to win an Alpine World Cup event. Weeks later, Lauren, who competed in the 2020 Youth Winter Olympics, won bronze in the Super-G at the Alpine World Ski Championships. 

But in late November, she fell during a training run and tore her right ACL, ending her season and hopes of competing in Italy.

“It was not even a good crash,” Lauren said.

She immediately stood up after the fall and didn’t feel much pain until she went to take a step. 

“It’s heartbreaking,” she said, “I had to call my mom riding down the gondola and that was one of the hardest things.”

Lauren told her not to fly out for the event, but her mom packed up the car and showed up anyway.

“I was really bummed for her, just knowing all the effort she put in and where she stood,” said their father, Dan Macuga. “But we’ve got to just move on. She is an amazing skier. She’s going to be back stronger than ever,” he said.

Dan also said the key to Lauren’s success is that “she is always smiling,” which is something he played a part in. 

“It was more about them enjoying what they were doing, than us trying to get them to be these elite athletes,” he said about his daughters.

Holding onto that joy has been the most important part of Lauren’s recovery. Her sisters kept things light, joking about Lauren’s struggles to get down the stairs on her crutches. Now, she’s making small gains back in the gym, already preparing for 2030. 

“You have to keep looking for the silver linings,” she said.

And when asked if we’d see her and her sisters competing four years from now, she gave a very Macuga-coded answer: “Definitely.”