Young Alpine Skiers To Watch Out In 2024-25 World Cup Season

Skiing in the Alpine has caught the attention of several youngsters. Many athletes born in the  beginning of the millennium have been scaling heights in the sport of skiing.  

As the 2024-25 World Cup season comes closer, let us have a look at five young athletes in skiing who could become the next Mikaela Shiffrin or Marco Odermatt.

Lara Colturi (Albania)

At just 17, the Italian-born skier is already a mainstay in World Cup racing as she heralds her third season in alpine’s top-tier competition. After coming close to becoming the youngest-ever debutant in 2022, she made 22 starts last season, failing to score points on only seven occasions.

In the 2023-24 campaign, Colturi recovered from a knee injury and managed to break into the top 15 six times, with her best finish being ninth in the Flachau slalom. She also added a fourth junior world medal to her kitty, earning bronze in the giant slalom at St. Jean d’Aulps, France.

Zrinka Ljutic (Croatia)

The 20-year-old who secured 8th place in last season’s World Cup slalom rankings, earned three second-place finishes. She showed consistency in giant slalom, with five top-10 performances, including a fourth place in Jasna, Slovakia, last January.

After being voted best rookie at the end of the previous season, Ljutic enters the new campaign with an eye on her first World Cup victory. 

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Britt Richardson (Canada)

A junior world champion in giant slalom at St. Jean d’Aulps earlier this year, Richardson has made 22 World Cup starts since her debut in 2022, securing five top-20 finishes last season. Her best result to date is a 14th place finish in Soldeu, Andorra, in February.

She secured a second place in the 2022 Nor-Am GS standings and a world team bronze with Canada in the parallel event at Courchevel-Méribel 2023.

Dzenifera Germane (Latvia)

 

The Latvian slalom specialist made a remarkable impression in her first full World Cup season. The 21-year-old earned points in six of her seven World Cup starts, including three eighth-place finishes. Her first top-ten result came in the night slalom of Flachau, Austria, where she started the first run.

Germane ended the season ranked 19th in the slalom standings. She is also the reigning junior world champion in the discipline having won Latvia’s first-ever title in the competition in Avoriaz, France, this February.

Livio Hiltbrand (Switzerland)

The Swiss skier is considered one of the most promising prospects in men’s skiing. Livio Hiltbrand had a podium- finish four times in the last two junior world championships, winning the Super-G title at St. Anton 2023 and the downhill title this year in France.

The 20-year-old made his World Cup debut at the 2023 finals in Soldeu, finishing 17th, just two seconds behind the winner and fellow Swissman Odermatt.

The recipient of the Swiss Young Athlete of the Year award will have a fixed World Cup starting place this season, thanks to claiming the downhill crown in the European Cup, following two second-place finishes in Santa Caterina, Italy, and a victory in Kvitfjell, Norway.