歪歪漫画

Paula Moltzan didn鈥檛 exactly choose to become a skier. Rather, as the daughter of two ski instructors, there was some inevitability involved.

She was placed on skis for the first time at age 2. Eventually, she started tagging along while her mother taught lessons at Buck Hill in Burnsville.

鈥淚t was kind of like instead of going to daycare, I went to the ski hill,鈥� she said.

A lifetime spent skiing has led her to the opportunity of a lifetime: the 27-year-old from Prior Lake qualified for her first Olympics and will be competing in the slalom and giant slalom in Beijing. The women鈥檚 giant slalom, which Moltzan鈥檚 teammate Mikaela Shiffrin won the gold medal in in 2018, will take place on Monday. The slalom race will be held two days later.

Even though Moltzan grew up immersed in skiing, her path to the Olympics was anything but linear.

On top of skiing, Moltzan had a deep love for both soccer and gymnastics. While she knew at a young age that she wanted to be a professional athlete, she wasn鈥檛 always sure what sport she wanted to pursue.

Because the gymnastics and skiing schedules conflicted, that was the first to go. She continued with soccer until she was 16.

鈥淚 think probably when I was 14 or 15, I was like, 鈥極h, I鈥檓 actually pretty OK at this whole ski racing thing. I can make it pretty far,鈥� 鈥� she remembered.

As she advanced in the sport, she started traveling more and more for ski training and races. By her sophomore year of high school, school officials told her she was missing too many days of classes at Lakeville South High 歪歪漫画 to ski, necessitating a change. Shortly after, Moltzan and her father, Mark, moved to Vail, Colo., where she attended school and trained at Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy.

鈥淢y parents are still happily married after that, but they were willing to sacrifice basically anything for me to see out my career and my dream,鈥� she said.

After her first year in Vail, she was named to the U.S. Ski Team, competing for the next five years across the United States and Europe. But after failing to meet the criteria to remain on the team, Moltzan had to regroup.

She decided her next step in life would take her to college, where she skied at the University of Vermont.

鈥淵ou kind of get salt in your mouth but it definitely is motivating,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it was a good life path to see that the world had a lot more to offer than just ski racing. 鈥� I didn鈥檛 make the choice, but I鈥檓 grateful for what happened because I learned a lot about myself and my ability to manage.鈥�

As a freshman at Vermont, she won the 2017 NCAA slalom title. While balancing skiing, Moltzan was pursuing a degree in biology with a minor in chemistry during her three years at Vermont. She hopes one day to become a doctor.

But for now, those dreams are on hold as she chases after her athletic dreams. Moltzan has been making the most of that opportunity thus far, making it back to the World Cup stage and then onto the U.S. Ski Team, before finally qualifying for her first Olympics.

She felt, she said, like she had been perfectly prepared to go into an Olympic season and qualify. And that鈥檚 exactly what happened.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not often you get two chances in sports to make a statement so I鈥檓 taking this second opportunity to really focus and not have any distractions,鈥� Moltzan said.