PARK CITY, UTAH – FEBRUARY 03: Olivia Giaccio of Team United States talks with her coach after a run during the final rounds of the Women’s Dual Moguls Competition at the Intermountain Healthcare Freestyle International Ski World Cup at Deer Valley on February 03, 2024 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Getty Images
Fresh off final exams, Columbia student Olivia Giaccio earned her third career moguls World Cup victory Friday, an early boost to her chances of making a second Olympic team.
Then on Saturday, Jaelin Kauf picked up her first win of the season in the new Olympic event of dual moguls.
Giaccio and Kauf’s victories are further proof to the unmatched depth of the U.S. women’s moguls program.
They each prevailed at the season’s third World Cup stop in Bakuriani, Georgia.
Giaccio, 24, tallied 80.19 points in her last run, edging 2018 Olympic gold medalist Perrine Laffont of France (76.53) and Kauf (76.13), the 2022 Olympic silver medalist.
Australian Jakara Anthony, the 2022 Olympic champion, is out after surgery for a reported broken collarbone.
A few days ago, Giaccio took her last final exam as an undergraduate, remotely of course. She is set to graduate later this month with a psychology degree and walk at a graduation ceremony in the spring, according to U.S. Ski and Snowboard.
Giaccio was sixth in her Olympic debut in 2022. Last February, she became the first woman to win a moguls competition with a cork 1080.
Giaccio’s student-athlete life is featured in this week’s Stifel Snow Show here.
Then on Saturday, Kauf took her ninth career World Cup win and specifically her sixth in dual moguls, which makes its Olympic debut in 2026. In dual moguls, skiers compete head-to-head.
Anthony won the previous seven World Cup dual moguls events dating to last December, with Kauf taking runner-up in the last five.
The U.S. is the world’s strongest nation in women’s moguls. Six American women ranked in the top nine in last season’s World Cup standings, led by Kauf (second) and Giaccio (third).
The 2026 U.S. Olympic team will be made up of up to four women. Selections are expected to be primarily based on World Cup results.
A Division of NBCUniversal.
DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only, and there is no gambling offered on this site. This service is intended for adult audiences. No guarantees are made for any specific outcome. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Ⓒ 2024 NBC Universal
