US skier Lila Lapanja has been given the green light to compete for Slovenia in the new Alpine Ski World Cup season, the portal Sportklub reported this week. The 29-year-old, whose father hails from Slovenia, is known as a slalom specialist.

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) green-lit Lapanja's bid on the sidelines of the ongoing congress in Iceland.

Before the final approval the skier also received the go-ahead from US Ski & Snowboard, the US national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding.

Following good results in youth classifications, Lapanja made it to the US national alpine ski team. She has scored World Cup points four times in her career so far. In the FIS World Cup, points are awarded to the top 30 finishers in every race.

She showed her prowess in slalom in the North American Alpine Skiing Cup and chalked up several victories in the United States Alpine Ski Championships.

It is now clear that in the final years of her career she will compete for Slovenia, hopeful to appear in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Lapanja's father is former Slovenian alpine skier Vojko Lapanja, who left Slovenia for the US as a student. He later settled at Lake Tahoe where he and his American wife started a family.