Our Incline Village hometown hero is representing at the Olympics! Learn more about her local story below:
"Before sunrise at Diamond Peak Ski Resort, the forecast read that it would be another chilly, windy day, with a storm in the forecast. Most would wait until the sun rose over the Eastern Sierra to even think about heading out for a day on the slopes.
For Lila Lapanja, it was just another training morning.
She was first taught to ski by her father, Vojko Lapanja, an Incline Village resident and a former Slovenian National Team racer. He put skis on her when she was about two years old at Diamond Peak, helped her develop her skills in her early years, and coached her through her youth racing with the Diamond Peak Ski Team.
After-school sessions meant 30–40 gates per set, 10–12 runs before dinner, edges tuned, more advice from Dad, then back at it the next day. By her teens: podiums at nationals. By her 20s: World Cup starts, hundredths of seconds separating wins from “almost,” to the Olympic stage.
Lila was named to the U S Ski Team at the age of 16, then switched to the Slovenian National Team, leveraging her dual citizenship to pursue new opportunities. New flag, same math: run margins measured in hundredths, same relentless passion.
Her father wasn’t just a parent on the hill — he shaped her early racing technique, instilled a strong ski racing foundation, and continues to be a mentor as she competes internationally today.
Overseas, she still pictures those crystal-clear mornings, one more lap, with big Lake views and big vertical dreams."
