Kauf, Lemley, Johnson Sweep Val St. Come Podium
For the first time ever, the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls women took the top four spots on a dual moguls World Cup podium. Jaelin Kauf, the fastest woman on the circuit, picked up where she left off in the 2024-25 season, taking the top spot. Elizabeth Lemley finished second, her first podium since 2024. Tess Johnson rounded out the podium in third place, her second podium of the weekend and Olivia Giaccio finished in fourth place. The last time the women swept a dual moguls podium was at Deer Valley in 2021.
“I love duals, and I came out just to have fun tonight and ski as hard as I could out here, and I did just that,” said Kauf. “It’s so amazing having four of us in the top four. The run before that, I just wanted to call it there and have the four of us take the win together. We have an incredible team, and I’m stoked for all of us.”
After a rain and a freeze, the bumps in Val St. Come, Quebec, Canada were fast and hard, leading to difficult conditions throughout the day. Ten Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes advanced through to the finals round of 16, fortunate enough to avoid U.S.-on-U.S. dualing in the early rounds. The men sent four to the finals and Charlie Mickel led the way into the quarter final where he finished sixth, tying his personal best dual moguls result. Nick Page, Friday’s third-place finisher, landed in 11th followed by Asher Michel in 12th and Dylan Walczyk in 13th.
Six women made it to the finals, and four made it to the quarter finals, where things started to pick up. One after another, the U.S. women won their duals - including an incredible battle by Lemley to take out reigning Olympic champion Jakara Anthony - until only American women remained in the competition. Lemley and Giaccio went head-to-head in the semifinals, with Lemley advancing to the big final. Kauf and Johnson were in the second heat; Kauf moved on to the big final and Johnson to the small. In the small final, Giaccio took a fall and lost both of her skis, but got up and skied down on her own. Johnson finished third overall.
In the big final, both women put on a show, but Kauf’s speed remained unmatched, giving her 23 points over 12 for Lemley to take the top spot. Kauf had not finished off the dual moguls podium since December of 2023. Lemley, making her return after injury, is back on the podium in second place for the first time since 2024.
Kauf ended the evening changing from the blue previous season winner bib to the yellow bib, signifying she is the current overall dual moguls World Cup leader.
Next week, the team heads to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire for the Intermountain Health Freestyle International, the final World Cup and Olympic qualifier before the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
