The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes are on the road again in Lac-Beauport, Quebec, Canada, where Karenna Elliott earned her first World Cup win in Saturday’s World Cup event. 

Lac-Beauport is a new stop on the aerials World Cup circuit, but it holds a strong freestyle history and is the home of many Canadian team members as their training site. 

The weather on course was varied, with rain scattered throughout the afternoon, causing sticky snow conditions. The unpredictable weather and snow caused athletes to land further down the hill than they were used to, leading to overcorrections for many. 

The U.S. started the day strong, sending four women and two men into the finals. Kaila Kuhn and Connor Curran led the way for the U.S., qualifying in third and 10th, respectively. In only his sixth World Cup start, Curran competed a triple for the first time, completing a successful back full full full. 

Due to deteriorating conditions in finals, Elliott was the sole U.S. team member to make it to super finals. In the first super finals of her career, she made sure to make her team proud. First, Elliott completed her back full double full for the first time in competition, executing it beautifully. With this jump, she was able to follow up her first super finals by making her first podium, standing on the top box.

"[This] feels like an absolute dream. I had never made a super final round before, so all I wanted to do today was to land a nice jump and make the top 6. Then, after landing my jump, I knew I was in a good position, but after seeing the results come in, I lost it, realizing what had just happened. I cried after realizing I got my first podium and then balled my eyes out when I won," said Elliott. "That was only my ninth full double full on snow, and first one in competition, so to be able to land it was incredible! I actually did one in training the day before yesterday, and it didn’t go well, and I really hurt my knee. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to even jump today as our team doctors almost pulled me. But once I was in the final round, my coach and I decided that if I wanted a chance at a podium, then I would need the full double full and go down with a fight."

Just outside the super finals was Megan Smallhouse, who finished seventh, followed by Kaila Kuhn in ninth, Kyra Dossa in 11th, Winter Vinecki in 13th and Tasia Tanner in 14th. 

On the men’s side, Chris Lillis led the team, finishing seventh, and was joined by Connor Curran in the finals, who took eighth. Ashton Salwan landed in 23rd, Derek Krueger in 24th and Ian Schoenwald in 26th. 

The team is headed right into another aerials World Cup in Lac-Beauport on Saturday, Feb. 11. Women’s qualification begins at 9:30 a.m. ET, followed by men's at 11:30 a.m. ET. Tune in to finals live tomorrow at 1:45 p.m. ET on skiandsnowboard.live. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

On the final night of competition at the 2024 Intermountain Health Freestyle International at Deer Valley, the crowd was roaring and the dual moguls action even better, with three Americans on the podium. Jaelin Kauf took second, Olivia Giaccio third and Dylan Marcellini took home his first career World Cup podium in third place in front of 10,000 cheering fans. 

It was a successful three days of competition, highlighted by moguls, aerials and dual moguls events, attracting the best freestyle athletes in the world to Utah. But Saturday was special, with the enormous crowd for duals only getting bigger as the evening progressed. With endless action, tough crashes and the athletes putting it all on the line, the dual moguls competition brought entertainment and thrills. 

Going into the first round of dual moguls, it was the round of 64 for men and round of 32 for the women. With the men kicking off the event, an abrupt change of weather conditions nuked snow onto the Champions course, creating a challenging course with heavy, slow snow and extremely limited visibility. As the night continued on, the snow did not let up and the athletes had to adapt. 

Going into finals, 11 Americans advanced through to the finals, including eight women and three men. On the men’s side, Marcellini and Nick Page punched their tickets from round to round, and eventually battled each other in the small finals for third place. Both had stellar runs, but a small mistake by Page propelled Marcellini into the third place position, with Page fourth. 

It was Marcellini’s first World Cup podium; his previous best dual moguls finish was 15th place. But he had a fourth place in last year’s single moguls, and knew that he could put down on this course. “It means so much to me to be able to do this at home,” said Marcellini. “I got fourth here last year and that was a surreal moment. To be able to top this this year was another step up the ladder and feels great.” 

Marcellini had a tough week, having crashed while training and hurt his ribs and hip, but ignored the pain and sent it in front of his friends and family. “It means so much to my mom and my dad and everyone who supported me along this way,” he said. “It’s just awesome to be able to put down a result for them and for everybody that has been there for me, that supported me that believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.” 

Also making finals, Charlie Mickel finished 14th. Ikuma Horishima of Japan took the win with Benjamin Cavet from France in second. 

In the women’s race, the pressure was on, with World Cup overall leader Jakara Anthony of Australia being the one to beat. In the small final, Giaccio dualed Japan’s Hinako Tomitaka, and put down a solid run to just narrowly beat her for the third place position, landing on the podium for the second time this weekend and adding her eighth World Cup podium to her 2023-24 season. Next up was the superfinal, with Kauf dualing Anthony. It was neck and neck down Champions. Kauf, known as the fastest women’s moguls skier in the world, put down a solid run but was unable to beat Anthony, ultimately getting second place. It was Kauf’s ninth podium of the season and 34th overall. 

“This is probably my favorite day of the year—duals day at DV is hard to beat,” said Kauf. “To take home two silvers in front of friends and family at Deer Valley is a perfect way to end the weekend. There are so many people coming to support me and it makes it fun. It is super special standing at the top of the course and hearing that crowd.”  

Hannah Soar and Kasey Hogg were also in the top 10, with Soar finishing seventh and Hogg eighth. Tess Johnson was 11th, Lulu Shaffer 14th and Liz Lemley 15th. Alli Macuga took a hard crash but is OK and finished 16th. 

RESULTS

Women’s dual moguls
Men’s dual moguls

Under the lights and in front of a deafening crowd at the Intermountain Health Freestyle International at Deer Valley, the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team aerials athletes put on a show, with Winter Vinecki winning her third World Cup of the 2023-24 season and Connor Curran taking home his first career World Cup victory.

The weather was not in the athletes’ favor, with heavy snowfall through qualifications slowing down the snow, ultimately taking away the triple jump opportunity from the athletes due to unsafe conditions. All athletes could only go off the double jump, which made it a different ballgame. Most of the men compete triples, as well as some of the women, with many not training doubles regularly.

Going into qualifications, where the top 12 advance through to finals, the U.S. women put an impressive seven into the finals, led by Karenna Elliot qualifying in second place. For the men, three advanced through, stacking the finals lineup on both sides with American athletes. 

In the finals, the men and women went one after the other. Kaila Kuhn landed the second best score and advanced easily to super finals, alongside Vinecki and teammate Tasia Tanner. Vinecki, who has been the only woman throwing triples in competition, needed to put her best double tricks down alongside the strong field of women. The same rang true for the men. 

Curran, who stated he wasn’t “throwing his best tricks in training” easily advanced through to finals, winning qualifications. Going into the finals with confidence, Curran then moved to super finals alongside his teammate and Olympic champion Chris Lillis.

At the end of the night under the Deer Valley lights, it was six women and six men in the super finals. Vinecki threw down a back-double-full-full, besting all of the competitors and skied into the finish area, all smiles to take her fourth career win. Vinecki further solidified herself as the strongest aerials athlete on the circuit, continuing to lead the overall World Cup standings

“I had to throw a trick that I only had done once in training her in the last two months,” said Vinecki. “I’m happy to have just put it to my feet and excited to be on top! It’s incredible. All of my family is right here and just got to see me win—I’m so happy.” 

On the men’s side, Curran successfully landed a full-double-full, scoring a 102.22, putting him into first place. He was only barely beaten by Alexandre Duchaine of Canada, who threw a back-double-full-double-full, one of the most complex tricks to throw in competition, to best Curran’s score by less than a half of a point, landing a 102.57. With that, Curran, who was part of Park City Ski & Snowboard before he made the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team, stepped on the podium for the first time on his home course. Lillis finished the evening just off the podium in fourth place. 

“I’m really excited,” said Curren. “I think that’s about it. I don’t know how to really describe it; I’m just so excited. I had no idea. I’m just so glad I got to be here—I was just focusing on the jump I was going to do and make it to my feet. At the end, I was just trying to beat myself.”

Curren’s career-best place before tonight was 13th at the 2023 Intermountain Health Freestyle International at Deer Valley. One year later, the young star was on the podium, making a mark with a second place in one of the more challenging World Cups on the circuit. “It means the absolute world,” he said. “I can’t wait to do it again. It’s always been a dream to podium here at Deer Valley. I’m just so stoked that I got my dream going.”

RESULTS
Women
Men

Giaccio First, Kauf Second at Deer Valley

On the first day of competition at the 2024 Intermountain Health Freestyle International at Deer Valley, Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team athletes Olivia Giaccio and Jaelin Kauf went one-two in the moguls competition, with three of their teammates in the top six, including Hannah Soar in fourth, Alli Macuga fifth and Kasey Hogg sixth. Nick Page finished fifth. 

On a challenging weather day, that started with rain then transitioned to snow, Deer Valley Resort welcomed the best moguls skiers in the world back to the infamous Champion course, the 2002 Olympic venue, for what many call the “Super Bowl of Freestyle Skiing.” 

With qualifications kicking off in the afternoon, the top 16 athletes advanced to the finals. On the women’s side, that included nearly the entire U.S. roster, led by Giaccio, Kauf, Soar, Lemley, Macuga, Hogg and Tess Johnson. 

In the women’s final, all the women were throwing down impressive tricks despite the heavy snowfall and variable course conditions. After the first run in finals, the U.S. women made a statement going into super finals with five out of six super final positions: Giaccio, Kauf, Soar, Macuga and Hogg. 

The highlight of the evening came with the final athlete descending onto the course. With a roaring crowd, filled with friends, family and steadfast moguls fans, the atmosphere was electric, cheering on Giaccio through the bumps. On the second hit, Giaccio threw a cork 1080, and landed perfectly to win the competition. It was the first time in history a woman won a competition with that trick. It is also Giaccio’s first win since the 2021-22 season, where she took home a victory in Ruka, Finland. 

“It was just incredible. That was my first Deer Valley podium,” said Giaccio. “To do it under the lights with my friends and family, seal in with a win and to get the first (women’s) moguls win with a 1080 in the run was incredible. Something I’ve dreamed of.”

Kauf, who landed in second place, secured her 33rd career World Cup podium and celebrated with her teammate. “This is such an incredible event. It’s all of our favorite every year. We look forward to it every single year,” said Kauf. “So stoked for all of our girls to be skiing so well and so stoked for Olivia for getting that win today!”

For the men’s race, Park City local Page led the men, finishing in fifth place. It was a redemption story for the accomplished Page, who has World Cup wins under his belt but had a tough time on his local hill last season and did not make finals. This year was different, sending it into the finals and throwing a cork 1440 on his final hit to thrill the crowd and take fifth. “I’m happy, really happy,” said Page. “After a poor performance last year, I definitely wanted to come back with some vengeance this year. It really felt like everything came together. And landing that 14 in front of the home crowd was pretty cool. I could hear the cheers right when I finished and it was electric.”

In the finals, similar to the women, the U.S. men stacked it into the round of 16. Landon Wendler eighth, Charlie Mickel 10th, Cole McDonald 11th and Dylan Walczyk 13th. 

The Intermountain Health Freestyle International continues Friday with an aerials event Friday night and dual moguls Saturday. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

The U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team took on the iconic Olympia delle Tofane track at the Cortina d’Ampezzo World Cup this morning, where Andrew Kurka landed on his first podium and earned his first win since sustaining a shoulder injury at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, China. 

It was a beautiful bluebird day in Italy, with perfect icy course conditions built for speed. “I really enjoyed this course mostly because it was high speed right from the get-go, so when you’re coming out of the start, you really gotta muscle down and stick your face in it,” said Kurka. “It was a course that wasn’t built to go slow by any means, and that’s where I excel.”

The course set and picturesque conditions allowed far fewer DNFs and DSQs than we have seen this season. On the women’s side, the youngest U.S. Para Alpine Ski Team member, Audrey Crowley, made her World Cup debut in Cortina. On one of the most renowned tracks in World Cup alpine, Crowley has already made a mark on the circuit, finishing fourth in her first World Cup at only 16 years old. Jesse Keefe finished ninth in the men’s standing event, followed by Andrew Haraghey in 12th and Spencer Wood in 13th. On the men’s sitting side, Ravi Drugan finished ninth and Matthew Brewer rounded out the top 10. 

Kurka talked about his long career and how his experience led to his success today. “I was able to take the experience that I have from being on the team for so long and slow down and tactfully maneuver myself in areas that gave me the advantage to help get me to the finish where a lot of people [had to] manage mess ups or crashes, I was able to consciously slip in there. My focus moving into tomorrow is to manage and assess, inspect the course and send it. The Italians set (tomorrow), and with it being their home mountain, I have a feeling they know exactly how this mountain is going to run well. There’s going to be some errors and sketchy stuff, just like there was in the downhill, and that's where I excel. I’m really excited going into tomorrow’s super-G.”

The team is taking on super-G in Cortina tomorrow, starting at 4:30 a.m. ET.

RESULTS
Women
Men

Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio stepped on the podium in dual moguls to wrap up the weekend at the United Airlines Waterville Freestyle Cup presented by ID One USA at Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. Kauf was second and Giaccio third.

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team women stacked it into the finals again, showing their consistent dominance this season. Seven women headed into the quarterfinals, including Kauf, Giaccio, Tess Johnson, Alli Macuga, Hannah Soar and Kasey Hogg, and swept second place through seventh. Johnson finished fourth, Macuga fifth, Soar sixth and Hogg seventh.

Kauf scored her second podium in two days, knocking out opponent after opponent throughout the day. She just lost the finals matchup to Jakara Anthony of Australia by one point, who took her second win in two days and eighth win in a row.

The crowd showed up on Waterville's historic Lower Bobby’s Run, named after Robert F. Kennedy. Fans, friends and family were thrilled to see the best skiers from around the world, as the New Hampshire fans braved fog, snow and rain to watch the head-to-head races.

“I could hear the crowd and the announcer, which was really fun,” said Giaccio, who hails from Connecticut. “The east coast is always a huge community of bump skiers so it’s awesome to have some representation.”

Kauf echoed her teammate’s appreciation of the east coast fanbase. “It’s always been fun coming out here for U.S. nationals. They’ve put on such a great event in the past and really stepped it up for the World Cup too,” she said. “And here at the birthplace of freestyle skiing, they have that history and that’s really cool to be a part of and bring the World Cup back here. I’m stoked that we’re going to have it again next year and excited to come back.”

Rounding out the Americans, Lulu Shaffer was 22nd, Skylar Slettene 23rd, Olivia Maurais 24th and Kylie Kariotis 28th

On the men’s side, Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team development team athlete Landon Wendler was the top U.S. man in eighth—his second top 10 of the weekend. Cole McDonald was ninth and Nick Page 10th.

Mikael Kingsbury took the win, his 86 career victory, which tied him with alpine skier Ingemar Stenmark as the winningest male skier in history. Stifel U.S. Alpine Ski Team athlete Mikaela Shiffrin broke the record last season and is the winningest alpine skier in history. Ikuma Horishima of Japan was second and Walter Wallberg of Sweden was third.

The FIS freestyle World Cup tour heads next to Park City, Utah for the Intermountain Health Freestyle International at Deer Valley Resort. 

RESULTS
Women
Men

HOW TO WATCH (times in ET)
Jan. 28
2:00 p.m. - men's and women's dual moguls, Waterville Valley, NH - CNBC (next day delay)

It was another bluebird day in Gangwon, South Korea at the Geongseon High 1 Ski Resort. It was the perfect conditions for Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athlete Elizabeth Lemley to clinch her second Youth Olympic Games gold medal in the same amount of days. Team USA dominated, with Lemley standing alongside Abby McLarnon of Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club with a bronze medal and Ski & Snowboard Club Vail's Porter Huff taking a silver.

Lemley wore bib one throughout the weekend and told an Olympics reporter, “I’ll bring home that I was bib one here and maintained my position, and I think I learned how to be at the top. I’m honored to have the first gold medals in dual moguls in the (Youth) Olympics. It’s a beautiful feeling.”

Lemley’s competitors understand the magnitude of her performances over the last two days. “I love Liz so much," said McLarnon. "She just knows how to do this. She is so good at finding the right things to do and when to do them."

McLarnon finished in third place, earning her second bronze medal of the weekend after winning in the small final against Manuela Passaretta of Italy. Huff, who took the top box alongside Lemley in yesterday’s team dual moguls, was on the podium again today, finishing in second place.

RESULTS
Women
Men

In front of a cheering hometown crowd at New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley, Jaelin Kauf and Hannah Soar scored podium spots at the United Airlines Waterville Freestyle Cup presented by ID One USA, finishing second and third, respectively. 

While the weather didn’t cooperate, seeing everything from snow to freezing rain throughout the day-long competition, the competition was fierce for the individual moguls competition on Friday.

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team women stacked seven into the 16-person finals, continuing their dominating season. Five athletes then qualified for the six-person super finals, guaranteeing at least two spots on the podium. Alli Macuga, Kasey Hogg and Olivia Giaccio all had trouble in the finals as course conditions worsened with the weather, but Kauf and Soar put down clean and fast runs to take second and third place, respectively. New Hampshire native Hogg finished just off the podium in fourth, a career best. Giaccio was fifth and Macuga sixth. Jakara Anthony won the event—her sixth World Cup in a row—and clinched the win of the overall single moguls Crystal Globe.

“The conditions were so tough, but the women’s success today shows how good of skiers we are and how much fight we have,” said Kauf. “No matter the conditions, no matter how tough and icy and challenging they were, the girls were able to put runs together and really showcase the strength of our skiing. Maybe Hannah is used to this east coast weather, but most of us are spoiled out west!”

Soar, a New England native from Connecticut who went to the Killington Mountain School, laughed about the conditions and was happy to land on the podium in front of family and friends. “Normally when I ski in the rain on the east coast—which is all the time—I’m wearing a rubber suit, I have my dish gloves on and I am prepared for it,” she laughed. “I’m a New Englander and I know how to prepare for it! But this is one of my first time competing in this kind of weather. In the super final when everyone was crashing in front of me, I just knew that there was one thing I know how to do and it’s skiing a top-to-bottom run in the rain.”

Behind the super finals, Tess Johnson was 11th and Park City Ski & Snowboard's Skylar Slettene was 14th. It was Slettene’s first World Cup and her first World Cup finals. Slettene also went to Vermont's Stratton Mountain School (SMS), just a few hours away from Waterville Valley.   

On the men’s side, five men sent it into the finals. Cole McDonald was the top American man, finishing fifth. Landon Wendler sent it to seventh place and Asher Michel was 11th, a career best. Nick Page and Dylan Marcellini had trouble putting down their runs in finals, finishing in 14th and 16th.

On the podium, Ikumu Horishima of Japan finished first, Cooper Woods of Australia was second and Mikael Kingsbury third.

The United Airlines Waterville Freestyle Cup presented by ID One USA was the first freestyle World Cup at Waterville Valley, which is known throughout the world as the birthplace of freestyle skiing. “Waterville has so much freestyle history,” said Kauf. “Wayne Wong is here. Donna Weinbrecht is commentating (on Outside). Hannah Kearney and Trace (Worthington) are commentating on NBC. It’s really cool to be a part of history and having the old freestyle community coming together for it. It’s really special. It really shows the family community that freestyle is.”

The weather looks to dry out at Waterville with dual moguls closing out the event on Saturday in front of a rowdy New England crowd.

RESULTS
Women
Men  

HOW TO WATCH (times in ET)
Jan. 27
2:00 p.m. - men's and women's dual moguls, Waterville Valley, NH - Outside Watch

Jan. 28
2:00 p.m. - men's and women's dual moguls, Waterville Valley, NH - CNBC (next day delay)

Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athlete Elizabeth Lemley led the United States to victory at the 2024 Youth Olympic Games in the team dual moguls competition in Gangwon, South Korea. 

On a picture-perfect day in Gangwon, Lemley took the top box alongside Porter Huff of Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, triumphing over the Republic of Korea’s Yun Shinee and Lee Yoon Seung in the big final. USA’s Abby McLarnon and Jiah Cohen also put on a dominant performance, taking home the bronze medal in the small final against Japan’s Hikaru Sakai and Takuto Nakamura. With today’s competition coming to a close, Team USA is not taking home one, but two, Youth Olympic Games medals to the U.S. 

“I had such confidence in Liz that she would always put down a good run and be up in the points. She’s one of a kind, a prodigy. I’m so happy to be teamed with her,” said Huff to an Olympics reporter. 

Throughout Lemley’s career, the young moguls star has already secured four World Cup podiums, most recently in Ruka, Finland where she was second. With today’s result, Lemley added another podium to her career, this time, from one of the biggest stages of the sport. 

RESULTS
Team dual moguls

It was another cold evening in Val St. Côme as the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls athletes took on the first dual moguls event of 2024, with Jaelin Kauf and Olivia Giaccio on the podium in second and third, respectively. 

The U.S. women have been a force to be reckoned with throughout the first period of this season's competition schedule, with six sitting in the top 10 in the overall World Cup moguls standings. Currently, Jaelin Kauf sits second, Olivia Giaccio fourth, Hannah Soar fifth, Tess Johnson seventh, Liz Lemley eighth and Alli Macuga ninth.  

During the qualification rounds, the U.S. athletes avoided going head-to-head, which allowed them to advance eight into the finals. Kasey Hogg narrowly missed the quarterfinals as she dueled against third place overall moguls-ranked Rino Yanagimoto. Alli Macuga and Tess Johnson also dueled in the 1/8th finals, where Macuga used her speed out of the gate and massive bottom air to advance over her teammate. 

On the men’s side, Nick Page and Cole McDonald went huge in the second air in the 1/8th finals but were bested with speed by Japan’s Takuya Shimakawa and France’s Benjamin Cavet, respectively. Page finished 11th and McDonald 14th. Outside the finals was Dylan Marcellini in 24th, Dylan Walczyk in 27th and Landon Wendler in 29th. Nash Lucas also earned valuable experience in his first World Cup dual moguls start, finishing 43rd. 

It was a battle of the American women in the quarterfinals, with Jaelin Kauf, Alli Macuga, Hannah Soar and Olivia Giaccio going head-to-head for two spots in the semis. The women know how to turn it on in the bumps and push each other while immediately smiling and hugging in the finish. 

Olivia Giaccio bested Hannah Soar 18 to 17 in the quarterfinals in one of the tightest duals of the night. In the other heat, Kauf advanced over Alli Macuga. Kauf and Giaccio met in the semifinals, where Kauf moved on to the big finals and Giaccio to the small. Soar finished fifth, followed by Macuga in seventh, Kasey Hogg in 10th and Tess Johnson in 16th.  

Kauf and Jakara Anthony dueled once again in the big finals. Kauf, unfortunately, took a nasty fall in the big final and did not finish but ultimately finished on the podium in second place alongside Giaccio, who finished third. This is both Kauf and Giaccio's fifth podium of the season, showcasing their incredible strength and consistency. 

The team is heading to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, for the first of two World Cups on home snow this season. They will compete at the United Airlines Waterville Freestyle Cup presented by ID One USA in moguls and dual moguls on Jan. 26-27. 

RESULTS
Women
Men