On a frosty Valentine’s Day in Livigno, Italy, the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics delivered a jolt of adrenaline and history as dual moguls made its Olympic debut. With snow swirling and nerves jangling at the Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park, the United States stamped its authority on the event, placing two athletes on the podium and four in the top six. Jaelin Kauf, already a household name in freestyle skiing, claimed her third Olympic silver, while Liz Lemley, the rising star from Vail, fought through pain and pressure to seize bronze, adding to her earlier gold in the individual moguls.
The buzz around dual moguls had been building for months. Unlike the traditional single-file moguls event, dual moguls pits two skiers side by side, racing and flipping down a 245-meter course peppered with tightly packed bumps and towering jumps. The format is as thrilling as it is risky—"Those center lines are pretty close together ... anything can happen," Kauf remarked ahead of the event. "Usually nothing too serious." But on this day, anything did happen, and the crowd was there for every heart-stopping moment.
From the outset, Team USA looked primed for a breakthrough. All four American women—Kauf, Lemley, Tess Johnson, and Olivia Giaccio—powered through their quarterfinal heats, advancing to the semifinals and keeping the possibility of an all-USA final alive. The quarterfinals themselves were a showcase of American depth, with each skier displaying blistering speed, tight turns, and aerial prowess. Johnson, a silver medalist at last year’s world championships, and Giaccio, known for her technical finesse, ultimately finished fifth and sixth, respectively. But their presence in the late rounds underlined the U.S.’s growing dominance in the discipline.
The semifinals, however, were a wild ride. In a dramatic twist, Kauf and France’s Perrine Laffont both crashed mid-run, with Kauf somersaulting backwards after being bucked by a mogul. Unaware that Laffont had veered off course and failed to finish, Kauf scrambled to her feet and completed her run, advancing to the final by sheer grit. "That was crazy," Johnson exclaimed on the NBC broadcast. "That’s duals though and that’s what makes it exciting and really anything can happen."
On the other side of the bracket, Lemley’s semifinal was equally harrowing. Coming off her bottom air, she lost a ski in a rough crash and didn’t finish her run against Australia’s Jakara Anthony. Yet, showing the resilience that has defined her breakout Olympics, Lemley shook off the tumble and soreness in her elbow to face Laffont in the small final. "I was just going to approach it like any other run and just forget that I had an injury, and so I just skied it as if I wanted to get another medal," Lemley told reporters. Her determination paid off—she edged Laffont 18-17, clinching the bronze and her second medal of these Games.
The final brought together two of the sport’s most electrifying talents: Kauf, the reigning world champion in duals and known as “The Fastest Woman on Bump,” and Anthony, the 2022 Olympic individual moguls champion. Both athletes went for broke, launching cork 7s off the top air and backflips on the bottom jump. In the end, Anthony crossed the finish line first and posted a 20-15 victory, capturing gold and redemption after a disappointing individual event earlier in the week. "It was a real rollercoaster today. The heartbreak the other day in singles was a pretty tough pill to swallow," Anthony told FIS. "This is actually only my second duals event in about two-and-a-half years because I was out injured all last season and missed a lot of dual events this season. We were able to work out a plan and follow that and roll with the punches a little bit, and we got it done."
For Kauf, the silver was both a triumph and a continuation of a remarkable Olympic journey. The 29-year-old now owns three Olympic silvers—two from these Games (individual and dual moguls) and one from Beijing 2022. "I was really going for gold, but I guess ‘Silver Jae’ has a ring to it, so I’m living up to the name," Kauf joked after the race. Yet, there was no mistaking her pride. "Duals has always been such a favorite event in the moguls skiing community, and so to have it on the Olympic stage, (you) can just feel the energy of the crowd. People were loving it here today. I hope everyone watching on TV loved it as much as we did. It’s really cool."
Lemley, just 20 and already a double Olympic medalist, reflected on her whirlwind week: "It’s been pretty insane. I didn’t expect it. I wanted it, but I’m just super happy to put down runs I can be super proud of." Her ability to rebound from crashes and pain underscored the physical and mental toughness required to excel in moguls, where athletes’ knees absorb relentless punishment as they navigate the course at speeds up to 25 mph. As men’s gold medalist Cooper Woods quipped earlier in the week, "You are just falling down the mountain ... wrecking your joints the whole way."
Weather was an ever-present factor, with snow falling steadily and support staff planting pine needles along the course to help skiers see in the flat light. Temperatures hovered in the mid-20s Fahrenheit, making for classic alpine conditions. The crowd’s energy was palpable, with cow bells, cheers, and even the occasional dog adding to the atmosphere. "People were loving it here today," Kauf noted, capturing the festive spirit that permeated Livigno.
The Olympic moguls slate isn’t quite finished—men’s dual moguls are set for Sunday, with U.S. hopeful Dylan Walczyk ready to take his shot at the podium. But for now, the spotlight belongs to Kauf, Lemley, and the rest of Team USA’s women’s moguls squad, who turned a historic Olympic debut into a showcase of courage, skill, and American depth.
As the snow continues to fall in Livigno, the echoes of cheers and the glint of medals make it clear: dual moguls has arrived on the Olympic stage, and the Americans are here to stay.