Deer Valley Hosts Visa Freestyle International
The world’s best moguls and aerials skiers are taking flight over Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah this week for the 20th-anniversary edition of the Visa Freestyle International. Athletes will compete in two single mogul World Cup events Jan. 10 and 11, followed by aerials on Jan. 12. With only two weeks of Olympic selection events remaining, the pressure is on for U.S. Ski Team athletes to land those coveted podium finishes to qualify for the 2018 Olympic team.
2017 World Championship bronze medalist Jaelin Kauf (Alta, Wyo.) is currently the only U.S. moguls athlete that has met objective Olympic qualifying criteria following first and second place World Cup results in December. Kauf has podiumed in dual moguls the past two years at Deer Valley Resort. There are no dual moguls on the schedule this year, but Kauf is carrying plenty of momentum and is hungry for more top finishes.
The U.S. women’s moguls team has qualified anywhere from four to six athletes into the final rounds at World Cups this season. Tess Johnson (Vail, Colo.), Olivia Giaccio (Redding, Conn.), Morgan Schild (Rochester, N.Y.) and Keaton McCargo (Telluride, Colo.) are all familiar faces in finals this season and fully capable of taking the next step to secure their Olympic spots.
On the men’s side, Troy Murphy (Bethel, Maine) has one of two podium spots needed to make the Olympic team after landing his first World Cup podium last month. The door is still wide open for other U.S. athletes to land top results, and a competition on American soil with a hometown crowd is a huge motivator. As always, a strong international field will play a role in determining who gets the top spots this week.
2015 overall aerials World Cup champion Kiley McKinnon (Madison, Conn.) finished second at last year’s Visa Freestyle International, which was an Olympic selection event for the U.S. team. Her first World Cup victory last week in Moscow gave her the two podiums needed to qualify for the Olympic team. 2017 World Champion Ashley Caldwell (Ashburn, Va.) has one podium this season and will be in the hunt, along with the U.S. men’s squad, for top results before their last Olympic select events in Lake Placid, N.Y. Jan. 19-20.
NBC Sports Group will feature comprehensive coverage of the Visa Freestyle International with shows airing on NBC, NBC Sports Network and streaming on nbcsports.com. For additional event information, visit usskiandsnowboard.org.
VISA FREESTYLE INTERNATIONAL
Mogul Athletes
Men
Casey Andringa
Joel Hedrick
Jack Kariotis
Troy Murphy
Emerson Smith
Troy Tully
Dylan Walczyk
Brad Wilson
Bryon Wilson
Women
Nessa Dziemian
Olivia Giaccio
Tess Johnson
Jaelin Kauf
Mikaela Matthews
Keaton McCargo
K.C. Oakley
Morgan Schild
Avital Shimko
Aerials Athletes
Men
Mac Bohonnon
Alex Bowen
Jon Lillis
Eric Loughran
Nick Novak
Nik Seemann
Zach Surdell
Women
Ashley Caldwell
Kiley McKinnon
Morgan Northrop
Madison Olsen
Madison Varmette
Winter Vinecki
Visa Freestyle International Schedule
*subject to change
Jan. 10
Men and women’s moguls qualifications + finals
Jan. 11
Men and women’s moguls qualifications + finals
Jan. 12
Men and women’s aerials qualifications + finals
HOW TO WATCH
All times EST
*subject to change
Jan. 10
8:45 p.m. – Moguls finals #1 – nbcsports.com
Jan. 11
8:00 p.m. – Moguls finals #1 – NBCSN (next day coverage)
8:45 p.m. – Moguls finals #2 – nbcsports.com
Jan. 12
8:30 p.m. – Moguls finals #2 – NBCSN (next day coverage)
9:45 p.m. – Aerials finals – nbcsports.com
Jan. 13
2:30 p.m. – Aerials finals – NBC (next day coverage)
