American Paula Moltzan made history on Saturday as the oldest woman to win her first Alpine skiing World Cup race, narrowly defeating Lara Colturi of Albania by just 0.01 seconds in the giant slalom at Sölden, Austria.

Starting the day in fifth place, Moltzan delivered a remarkable second run, finishing with a combined time of 2 minutes 14.82 seconds. Colturi followed closely behind at 2 minutes 14.83 seconds, while Emma Aicher from Germany rounded out the podium, finishing 0.52 seconds off the pace.

Moltzan expressed her disbelief, stating, "It feels like a fairy tale right now. Pretty unreal and I think it will take a minute to settle in."

This victory is a significant breakthrough for Moltzan, who made her World Cup debut in 2012 and faced setbacks, including being dropped from the US ski team a decade ago. At 32 years old, she had previously placed second or third in 10 World Cup races without ever reaching the top step.

Highlights from the race include:

• Moltzan’s impressive second run of 1 minute 7.86 seconds, which propelled her to first place.
• Colturi's close finish, just 0.01 seconds behind.
• Aicher's rise from ninth to third position.
• Sara Hector of Sweden slipping from second to fourth, 0.63 seconds off the lead.

In a noteworthy equipment change, Moltzan left her long-time sponsor, Rossignol, to join Van Deer–Red Bull Sports, becoming the first woman to race for the brand.

Beyond skiing, Moltzan has been advocating for expanded fertility treatment coverage for US Olympic athletes, making headlines with her floral uterus design helmet.

As she celebrates her career's biggest victory on the Rettenbach glacier, Moltzan reflects, "I can’t imagine a better start. I’m really, really, really excited and I can’t wait to see everybody who’s here cheering us on."