Jaelin Kauf Wins Back-To-Back FIS Freestyle World Cup Moguls And Dual Moguls Events In Thaiwoo, China
Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) is on fire after winning back-to-back FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls and dual moguls events in Thaiwoo, China, Sunday. Kauf, currently ranked as the number one female moguls skier in the world, now leads the World Cup tour, which comes back to North America on January 12, 2019, in Calgary, Canada.
“My strategy was to just ski my run the best I could," Kauf said. "I was able to put down some solid runs during the moguls competition (on Saturday) and wanted to build on those. I knew I was the fastest yesterday and just played on that strength today. I’ve won back-to-back before so I’m really happy to have done that again! The competition was tough out there but I’m really happy I was able to ski my runs and land on the podium again!”
It was another beautiful day in Thaiwoo, and Kauf, after a win from the previous day’s moguls event, could not be beaten as France’s Perrine Laffont was second, and Kazakhstan's Yulia Galysheva, was third.
“The women’s field on the World Cup circuit is very deep, so it is hard enough to win one event, let alone two in a row," said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. "Today was a little extra special though as Jaelin knocked off number-one in the world - Perrine Laffont, to not only take the victory but also the number-one ranking. It will be great to return to North America in the new year with the yellow leader’s bib. Now that Jaelin has the leaders bib I think it is going to be pretty hard to take it away from her.
“Jaelin’s success can be attributed to her top air exit and speed through the middle section of the course, none of the other competitors could even come close to matching Jaelin’s speed. Jaelin skied with great body position in all five runs which allowed her to ski mistake free fast runs,” Gnoza continued.
Other notable achievements from the American women was Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.) who finished eighth. Johnson bounced back from the previous day’s singles competition before losing to Laffont a couple of runs before Kauf beat her. Ness Dziemian (East Hampstead, N.H.) had back-to-back top-10 finishes, seemingly on a roll heading into the new year. Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.) put up a good fight against Laffont, finishing 11th.
On the men’s side, Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury claimed first, Sweden’s Oskar Elofsson took second and France’s Benjamin Cavet came in third. Bradley Wilson (Park City, Utah) came in sixth, skiing fast but just short versus Kingsbury. Casey Andringa (Bouder, Colo.) put up the biggest airs of the day and finished ninth, while brother Jesse Andringa (Boulder, Colo.) had his first World Cup Top-20 finish, earning him his first World Cup points.
Kauf leaves China and leads the U.S. Freestyle Team as the world’s number-one ranked moguls skier. “The U.S. Moguls Team currently leads the race for the Mogul Nation’s Cup by two points over Canada. Jaelin’s success has lead the way; however, what makes this special is that the entire team has contributed to the current point tally. We are happy to be leading the Nation’s Cup race. We know that this is far from over and we still have plenty of work to do, but I know this group is definitely up to the challenge,” says Gnoza.
The day before it was a picture-perfect day for the FIS Freestyle World Cup moguls in Thaiwoo, China, and Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) took full advantage, claiming victory with a 360 on the top air and a backflip and cross on the bottom. She shared the podium with Australia’s Jakara Anthony, who finished second, and France’s Perrine Laffont in third.
“I love this course. I love competing here. The moguls don’t get too beat up, they’re more ‘overlappy’ which I like and I’m able to just push my speed through and go big on the airs,” said Kauf, who has a history of success in Thaiwoo. Last season she finished first and second over two days of competitions.
“Jaelin is the queen of Thaiwoo," said Head Moguls Coach Matt Gnoza. "She had a smoke-show of a run in the first final but left a little on the landing. When she skied out of the gate for her second run she shut all the doors and had quite the outstanding performance. Jaelin put pressure on the woman in first and Jakara just couldn’t catch her.”
It’s hard to catch Kauf when she’s the fastest skier on the course, especially when the course is Thaiwoo and is known for being challenging. “Jaelin has the strength of being a skilled skier on top of her speed. She has the ability to charge through and some of the stuff that catches other skiers here in Thaiwoo but doesn’t catch her,” Gnoza added.
Three American women qualified for finals and Nessa Dziemian (East Hampstead, N.H.) created some momentum for herself with a seventh-place finish. This is her first top-10 finish since coming back from an ACL injury.
On the men’s side, Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury won his 51st career World Cup, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima finished second and Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Reikherd finished third. Bradley Wilson (Butte, Mont.) returned to form in great fashion with a seventh place while not feeling one hundred percent. “Brad came out and competed to seventh place on one day of training and no inspections from being sick in bed. He just saddled up and went, it was a gutsy performance. He’s a warrior to not let that sickness get him,” said Gnoza.
Another notable finish for the men was Hunter Bailey (Vail, Colo.) who finished 14th. “Hunter did his job today cutting his bib number in half by making finals. This positive momentum will carry over throughout the season,” noted Gnoza.
The U.S. Moguls Team takes a break for the holidays before revving up again for a World Cup event in Canada on January 12, 2019.
