Paula Moltzan (USA) and Jackie Wiles (USA) met at a national development ski camp in Mount Hood, Oregon. The year was 2009.

“I flew from Minnesota on a plane and Jackie rolled up in her white Jeep,” Moltzan told NBC Sports. “I was so mystified that someone could a) drive a car and b) drive herself to camp.”

“They were all blown away that I was driving myself,” confirmed Wiles, who sat beside her Team USA compatriot. “It shows I was a couple of years older.”

Wiles was 17, Moltzan 15. 

It was a memorable first encounter for the Alpine skiers. 

On Tuesday, almost two decades later, the two shared another moment they won’t forget. They captured their first-career Olympic medals in the newly formed team combined event. They did it with each other, for each other and because of each other. That’s not usually how it goes in the sport.

In the four major disciplines — downhill, super-G, giant slalom and slalom — skiers try to earn podiums by themselves. Their personal standing determines the accolades they receive (or don’t). They control their own destinies.

The team combined, which has only been staged in major competition twice (including at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games), pairs a country’s top speed skier and top technical skier. Each completes a run in their respective discipline, and the duo that posts the quickest time of all the other duos is the winner.

“When I heard that I was being paired up with Jackie, I was more than over the moon. It was a dream pairing for me,” Moltzan said. “I knew she could perform on this hill and set us up for a really good spot.”

“I’ve been watching Paula dominate all season,” Wiles added. “She's been skiing so fast, and you can see the confidence in her skiing. Sunday was a hard day for me, coming in fourth in the downhill. I was pretty devastated. 

“When I heard that Paula was going to be my teammate, it kind of gave me this sense of a second chance, and I really felt that honor and privilege that I could go out there and try again with her, and I knew we had a really good chance.”

Heading into the Games, a Wiles-Johnson tandem was unlikely. Per U.S. Ski & Snowboard, slalom athletes for the team combined are selected based on their best World Cup results in “evaluative events” (namely, World Cup events). 

Downhill athletes are selected based on downhill race results in “evaluative events,” as well as 2026 Winter Olympic downhill results.

Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), the greatest “slalomist” that’s ever bound boot to ski, had the top spot locked thanks to a dominant, podium-filled Cup season. Moltzan was second. 

On the downhill side of the equation, Lindsey Vonn (USA) was her. A multi-time Cup winner and favorite heading into the Olympic downhill. Had she not crashed, it may have landed Vonn with Shiffrin and Johnson with Moltzan. Or Shiffrin with Johnson and Vonn with Moltzan. 

Wiles slid up the totem pole with Vonn's absence, linking her with Moltzan (while Shiffrin teamed with Johnson). 

It was an intriguing pair. An oddly fitting one, too.

“Chaotic” is how Moltzan playfully labeled Wiles’ skiing style, who in return, said Moltzan’s was “hectic.”

“We both have an insane ability to recover,” Moltzan proudly claimed. “We’re always pushing as hard as we can. For me, I think it’s chaotic, but I know Jackie feels in control.”

“You’re a gymnast,” Wiles interjected. “You have those acrobatic moves.”

When the two leave the starting gate, they’re full send. Every time. It’s what has made Jackie and Paula world-class skiers. It’s also brought with it a far share of scary moments.

In 2018, two days before the PyeongChang Winter Games, Wiles suffered a gruesome injury at a World Cup event in Garmisch, Germany. In one of the gnarliest crashes you’ll ever see, she tore the ACL, MLC, LCL, POL, lateral meniscus and tibia-fibula joint in her left knee. She also broke her fibula and sustained nerve damage. 

Wiles missed significant time on the snow and experienced post-traumatic stress disorder right as she was carving into her prime.

Moltzan has dealt with her fair share of injuries as well — including a separated shoulder that she continued to compete with — although her path to bronze is most notable for its unconventional nature. 

The Vermonter made the U.S. Ski team as a senior in high school and found moderate success for five seasons. However, U.S. Ski chose not to bring her back for a sixth, and Moltzan decided to attend the University of Vermont to race at the collegiate level. After finding success as a student-athlete, U.S. Ski nominated her once again to return.

“We both had a lot happen in our career. We've had a lot of tough moments, and we've always known that we could be right there,” Wiles explained. “To have gone through a lot of adversity and still have that belief in ourselves and achieve this moment together, it’s really special.

"I feel like we've both been on that journey of wanting revenge. To do it with someone I feel like is on that exact same path has been really cool and empowering.”

Despite skiing on the same team, there wasn’t a whole lot of strategizing going into the combined. The races are not connected in any way — they happen at different times, there’s no “tagging in” the other — and the race types are completely different. 

Downhill is about harnessing speed over a long distance. Slalom is about finding technically proficiency in a tighter quarters.

Wiles offering Moltzan advice or vice versa would be like a doctor trying to teach an architect how to design a house. The disciplines are not the same.

Still, the athletes expressed an extreme nervousness watching the other race and impacting the duo's overall time. 

“Jackie sent me a really calming message before I went out for my run,” Moltzan revealed. “She told me that she was proud to be my teammate no matter the result. And I think that just gave me an affirmation that there was no extra or added pressure, that I could just do what I could do, and normal was good enough.”

“I think I also told Jackie, I need at least a half second lead to beat Mikaela.”

Both women laughed when Paula said this, but there was sincerity to the comment. 

Shiffrin has largely been unbeatable in slalom this World Cup season (she’s won seven out of eight races), and Moltzan wanted a little cushion. Unfortunately, Breezy Johnson threw down a stellar downhill run and had a .45 second advantage. 

Moltzan crushed her Run 2 and the duo still trailed behind two other tandems.

With Shiffrin the final athlete left to compete, and Wiles-Moltzan sitting in 3rd, it appeared that a Shiffrin-Johnson win was a foregone conclusion. Even if Shiffrin's time was good enough for 2nd or 3rd, it would have bumped Wiles-Moltzan off the podium.

“We were standing there thinking we got fourth. You know, we need a miracle at this moment,” Wiles said. “I wasn't even looking at the time, I was just waiting to see what number popped up. 

"When fourth popped up for them, the way we both erupted, I'll never forget it.”

“We were both just in a state of shock,” Moltzan chimed in. “Like oh my God! The miracle came through. We are on the podium! We're Olympic medalists!"

Wiles indicated that the 2026 Winter Games would be her last. A bronze-colored swan song for the ages. Meanwhile, Moltzan will take the giant slalom and slalom piste in Cortina, aiming to add more hardware to her budding collection. 

Not bad for a couple of kids who went to ski camp together.