The stars were shining as dual moguls took center stage at Waterville Freestyle Cup
Americans on the U.S. women's team claimed second through seventh place.
WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. — The dual moguls portion of the Waterville Freestyle Cup provided a fitting culmination of the festivities Saturday, as fans were treated to drama and history in the finals.
Mikaël Kingsbury of Canada notched his 86th victory, tying Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark for the most World Cup wins by a male skier. On the women’s side, Australian Jakara Anthony continued her near-perfect season, beating Jaelin Kauf of the United States by the slimmest of margins to clinch her eighth World Cup win in a row.
It was another excellent day for the US women’s team, with Americans claiming second through seventh place. Connecticut native Olivia Giaccio rounded out the podium, defeating Tess Johnson for third place.
The women’s final saw Anthony vs. Kauf in what was one of the most anticipated matchups of the day. The duel, which took place on Waterville Valley’s steep and challenging Lower Bobby’s Run, lived up to the hype. Though Kauf, who is known for her speed, was first to the finish line, Anthony was awarded the 18-17 win by the judges based on her aerials and quality of turns.
“Super close final,” Anthony said. “Jaelin got out in front of me coming off that top air, so I had to make sure she didn’t get too far away. I ended up keeping it real clean, and catching up a little bit, so came out on top which was exciting. Those US girls took two through seventh, so just me standing between them and a sweep.”
Kauf, who won a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics behind Anthony’s gold and was second to the Australian in Friday’s moguls, was happy with how she performed.
“Yesterday I didn’t quite put down the runs I wanted to,” Kauf acknowledged. “It was just a little sloppy with a few mistakes, so today those last couple [runs] I was just so stoked to put down some really solid [runs] and keep pushing it.”
On the men’s side, the final proved to be anticlimactic, as Kingsbury skied to an easy win. His opponent, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima (who won on Friday), made a rare mistake midway through the run and skied out of his line. Swedish skier Walter Wallberg took third place. Landon Wendler was the top US skier, finishing eighth.
After dealing with freezing rain for Friday’s moguls, the dual moguls competition saw improved conditions. Periodic snow was balanced by occasional sunlight. Still, the competitors — particularly those not from the area — were treated to the full New England experience, as heavy fog made a brief appearance (causing a short stoppage during qualifying rounds).
Waterville Valley is set to host the World Cup again in 2025 as part of the two-year agreement with the International Ski and Snowboard Federation. Despite the inclement weather, skiers were complimentary of the crowds and course maintenance.
“It’s been really cool to come to a new location,” said Anthony. “We don’t get to do that too often on tour. It’s been a little while since I competed out here in the East. The venue is pretty epic. It seemed like they got a lot of people watching, so it was awesome.”
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