Kuhn, Dehlinger Take the Honors at the 2025 U.S. Freestyle Ultimate Airwave

The best freestyle aerials skiers in the U.S. took to the air at the Utah Olympic Park on Saturday, Aug. 23rd, in front of an incredible hometown crowd, where Kaila Kuhn and Quinn Dehlinger both stood at the top of the podium. 

This year's event featured over 40 athletes from around the country, ranging from Olympic champions to the best up-and-coming development athletes. The day started with the qualification round, where each athlete had two chances to put down their best jump, and their top score was used to rank them toward the final. The top 12 men and women advanced to the final round. Kuhn qualified in the top spot for the women, and Chris Lillis led the way for the men. 

Despite the wind, the Stifel U.S. Ski Team athletes stayed strong in the finals. Kuhn threw a beautiful full full full, scoring 107.32 to put her ahead of teammate Winter Vinecki to maintain her winning position. Vinecki finished second, followed by Dani Loeb in third. On the men’s side, Lillis stepped up the difficulty, throwing a full double full double full to earn a huge 130.05 points, a huge improvement from qualifications. However, Dehlinger came out swinging in the finals and threw a hurricane, a full triple full full to take the lead and finish on top. Teammate Connor Curran completed the podium in third place. 

“This is one of the best summers of training I’ve had to date, and right now I’m just working on increasing my degree of difficulty,” said Kuhn. “The plan we have set is working, so I’m just going to try to keep moving in that same direction.”

“I’m feeling good,” said Dehlinger after his win. “It [the win] is showing that the work that I’ve been putting in earlier in the summer has been paying off.”

Next up, the team has a few weeks off from the pools for some relaxation and a focus on strength and conditioning before they start jumping again in September.