LIVIGNO, Italy — Snow fell heavily Saturday morning at the Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park during the inaugural Olympic women’s dual moguls.
The conditions made the course a touch slower and harder to see.
Salt Lake City’s Jaelin Kauf and part-time Park City resident Elizabeth Lemley found a way to shine as bright as their moguls gold and silver medals from Wednesday.
Kauf, the single-elimination bracket’s two seed, and Lemley, the top seed, worked their way relatively comfortably to the semifinals, where both would suffer crashes.
Fortunately for Kauf, her crash came after Wednesday’s bronze medalist, Perrine Laffont of France, was knocked off her racing line and out of bounds, winning Kauf the race. Lemley, trailing 2022 gold medalist Jakara Anthony of Australia, crashed off the bottom jump.
Kauf said after the competition that she banged up her hip and back. Lemley hyperextended her elbow. Both shook off their injuries for the gold and bronze medal runs. Lemley took her time with U.S. Ski Team personnel attending to her elbow. She was soon rushed back up to the starting gates by a snowmobile, where she was first up.
Lemley trailed Laffonte in the bronze race by a touch, but the judges gave her the 18-17 nod due to her turns and jumps. Lemley appeared entirely in shock, winning her second Games medal in four days.
“I was able to go up and ski another run, so I’m super happy,” Lemley said. “If there was (pain), I was just blocking it out. I’ll deal with that later.”
Lemley called her two medals validation of the hard work she put in recovering from an ACL tear last season.
“I was definitely a little frazzled at the top,” Lemley said. “You get a little unfocused and replay the mistake in your head, but I just learned from that mistake.”
Lemley joked that she was feeling the elbow pain after she finished racing and giving interviews to reporters. She had accomplished her goals in recovery and, for this season, peaking for the Games.
“I wanted to build up to this moment,” Lemley said. “I didn’t want to be at my best at the beginning of the season; I wanted to be at my best here.”
As Lemley’s post-run shock wore off in the finish area, Kauf went head-to-head against Anthony for the gold medal. Anthony beat Kauf to the finish line, and the judges gave her the 20-15 nod.
While Kauf was disappointed with another silver, she became the first U.S. mogulist, male or female, to win three Olympic medals in a career.
Kauf and Lemley were paraded once more around the moguls and aerials park crowd by family and friends. The contingents for Kauf, Lemley, Tess Johnson and Olivia Giaccio were in full force, donning signs, homemade apparel and singing along to the DJ’s tunes.
“From the moment we woke up this morning, all of us girls were so excited and energized by the opportunity to compete in the first-ever dual moguls,” Kauf said. “Finally having it showcase on the Olympic stage is pretty spectacular.”
Kauf said she believes dual moguls brought even more excitement to the Games.
She wasn’t sure if she would return for the 2030 Games, but she wouldn’t regret her final run or the potential effects the crash had on it. She said she doubts anyone at the starting gate was feeling 100% at this point in the season.
“This is a gnarly sport,” Kauf said. “We all take hits, whether on training days or competition days. … The sport beats you up.”
Kauf hoped the high-level skiing on Saturday would have some fans returning to the sport.
“Every time we push out of the gate, every girl out here is capable of that,” Kauf said. “The talent in these Olympics is absolutely insane on the women’s side. But I walked away with two silver medals. It’s pretty cool.”
Lemley’s father, Wayne Lemley, came in from Vail for dual moguls. He said he believes her support unit this week helped her have a career week.
“The Morellis, who came from Park City, and the Keenans from Vail were grounding for her,” Wayne said. “I think that’s all huge for her.”
After the race, Lemley discussed Anthony’s win and what made her so tough to beat.
“I’m super proud of her,” Lemley said. “She’s an amazing competitor and skier. I love watching her and it’s super deserved.”
