Johnson Wins, Kauf Second in Almaty Moguls
For the first time in seven years, Tess Johnson stood atop the World Cup podium in Friday’s moguls competition in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Jaelin Kauf continued her hot streak, finishing just behind Johnson in second place.
The day started with sunshine and close-to-windless skies, the perfect combination for moguls skiing. The Stifel U.S. Ski Team women started the action on the iconic Yuka G moguls course, where all five athletes advanced to finals. Johnson qualified in the top spot, earning the highest air score of the day. Johnson’s signature venom grab on the bottom air, and new addition of a cork seven safety grab on the top air set her apart from the competition. Kauf qualified in second, followed by Kai Owens in seventh, Kasey Hogg in eighth and Kylie Kariotis in 13th. On the men’s side, Charlie Mickel continued his impressive season, qualifying in sixth alongside Nick Page in ninth. Dylan Walczyk was 21st.
“I’m super happy with the run I put down, it was a solid top to bottom,” said Johnson. “I ran first out of the gate, which I’ve only done once in my career, so that was a good way to start the day early, and I’m really looking forward to finals.”
The beautiful overcast sunshine from qualifications quickly turned to dense clouds mixed with snow, creating extremely difficult conditions for the athletes. The women continued with the round of 16, where Johnson continued to shine, pushing the difficulty in the air mixed with quick and clean turns. Kauf put down a heater in the finals, earning the best time score of the day by almost two points. Hogg moved up four places in the finals. The men attempted to complete their finals, but unfortunately, the weather worsened, creating unsafe conditions and cutting the competition short. The women’s results came from the finals round of 16 and the men’s from qualification.
Johnson’s final run earned her second career win and second podium this season, winning by 0.02 points over teammate Kauf. Kauf finished second, earning her 11th podium in a row, looking back all the way to December. Hogg tied her personal best World Cup result, finishing fourth to earn a new season’s best. Kariotis ended the day in 12th and Owens in 15th. Mickel’s qualification run earned him his third career top six finish, all of which have come this season. Page finished ninth.
“I was pretty excited to get my first podium of the season last week and I’m hoping to build on that and put some good runs down,” said Johnson. “The outcome is always in the back of our minds as competitors, but I’m keeping my focus on my skiing and what I can control.”
On March 1, the athletes are back on Yuka G for dual moguls starting at 4:00 a.m. ET. Follow along on skiandsnowboard.live.
