Giaccio Wins in Bakuriani, Kauf Third
The Stifel U.S. Ski Team moguls athletes took on the longest moguls course in the world in Bakuriani, Georgia, running 280m (918 ft) long, and Olivia Giaccio put down the run of her life to win her third career World Cup. Jaelin Kauf rounded out the podium in third place and Asher Michel earned a new career best in eighth.
The men’s moguls qualification were pushed a day early to combat lighting and weather issues. Nick Page and Michel advanced for the U.S. into today’s finals competition.
The snow front that swept through Georgia created sizeable changes to the moguls course, leading to larger bumps than the athletes are used to. There were nerves in the air throughout qualifications as the women got used to the change, while many struggled to adapt. Despite the challenges, all six U.S. women advanced to the finals for the second time this season.
In the men’s finals, Michel put down a career-defining run, earning a new personal best of eighth place in only his second career finals appearance. Page finished ninth.
In finals, the U.S. women continued to shine with Giaccio landing in the top spot heading into super finals, followed by Tess Johnson in fourth and Kauf in sixth. Giaccio had the fans on the edge of their seats as she entered the moguls course for her super finals run as the last athlete to drop in. Perrine Laffont (FRA) had just executed a clean run to edge out Jaelin Kauf from the top position, and Maia Schwinghammer succumbed to the bumps seconds before. All eyes were on Giaccio, and she did not stutter. She landed two beautiful cork 720 variations to earn the highest women’s air (jump) score of the day with 18 points. Giaccio’s final score was over 3.5 points higher than Laffont.
“I really just wanted to try and make my super finals run better than the last run I skied. I think I was able to do that. I wasn’t sure where I was going to end up, so I’m very happy to walk away with the win,” said Giaccio. “I made a few changes over prep season for my jumps, and I still have more to give, which is exciting, so I’m really happy with how things are working right now.”
Tomorrow, the team will take on the long-anticipated first dual moguls event of the season. Tune in to qualifications at 12:45 am ET on YouTube and finals at 3:00 am ET on skiandsnowboard.live.
