Donned in sparkles and a fresh Team USA kit, Salt Lake City resident Jaelin Kauf pushed onto the course in Livigno, Italy, for her chance at a second Olympic medal.
Heading into her third Olympics, Kauf said she only had one goal.
“The game plan was to just come out, have fun, ski my runs and do what I can with that,” she said after her final moguls run.
Kauf was the seventh of eight skiers in the final run, with reigning Olympic champion, Australia’s Jakara Anthony, behind her.
Waiting at the bottom in first place was Kauf’s teammate, Liz Lemley. The skier from Vail, Colorado, is competing at her first Olympic Games and came down with a score of 82.30.
Kauf crossed the finish line scoring an 80.77. It was enough for second place right behind Lemley, who earned the USA’s first moguls gold since Parkite Hannah Kearny won in 2010.
A mistake halfway down cost Australia’s Anthony the win and put her in eighth place, securing Kauf’s second silver medal. In Beijing in 2022, she came in second just behind Anthony.
U.S. coach Bryon Wilson said they went into the Games with a strong team.
“Each woman on this team is capable of winning on any given day, and they have won in the past,” he said. “I think that just builds excellence. They push each other to be better in every way.”
Utahns Olivia Giaccio and Tess Johnson just missed the second final, finishing ninth and 10th. Park City’s Avital Carroll, who is competing for Austria, finished seventh.
Now, the U.S. women will prepare for the Olympic debut of dual moguls Feb. 14.
