American Liz Lemley won the gold medal in the women’s moguls final at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Teammate Jaelin Kauf secured the silver medal, giving Team USA the top two spots on the podium.
Lemley, a 20-year-old first-time Olympian, delivered a stunning final run to upset the field.
Kauf earned her second consecutive Olympic silver medal after a strong comeback from a poor qualifying round.
LIVIGNO, Italy — For the first time in this cluster at the spread out 2026 Winter Olympics, the “Star Spangled Banner” played at a medal ceremony in the Italian Alps.
A member of Team USA won the women’s moguls final, the first gold medal here.
It just wasn’t the winner everyone thought it would be.
Twenty-year-old Liz Lemley, who was solid all through qualifying and established herself as a medal contender, stunned the crowd and competition with a blistering and technical final run that resulted in a score of 82.30. Teammate Jaelin Kauf finished second for the second straight Olympics (80.77). Australia’s Jakara Anthony, the defending Olympic champion who entered finals in first place, made a bad turn in the middle of her final run to clinch the top two podium spots for the USA. France’s Perrine Laffont took the bronze medal home with a 78.00.
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Ava Keenan is a former teammate of Lemley’s – based in Vail, Colorado – and the two have maintained that friendship over the years. Keenan was part of a delirious group of Lemley supporters, along with her father, Jim Keenan, who was decked out in U.S. Ski and Snowboard gear and hoisted Lemley on his shoulders after she greeted her supporters following the medal ceremony.
“She doesn’t say much,” said Jim Keenan, Ava’s father, “but she’s a silent assassin. In her head, she knows what she’s doing.”
Call her Jason Bourne, then. Lemley and three of her teammates automatically qualified for Wednesday’s finals thanks to a top-10 showing in the first qualifying round.
“She knew she was going to win,” said Ava Keenan, who added that Lemley told her she had a second gear to live up to in finals. Lemley gave herself a “let’s go” as she started out of the gate and ended up with a gold-medal run 25.81 seconds later.
“I don’t have expectations for myself,” said Lemley, who was processing that she just won gold. “I just wanted this coming in. I’ve prepared myself to be in the mindset to win. But it’s just awesome to do it.”
Lemley is the youngest member of the U.S. moguls team and a first-time Olympian, but she put up a veteran performance. She is a two-time gold medalist at the Youth Olympic Games, in duals moguls and team duals moguls. She won her first World Cup race at age 16.
“To be honest, I just love skiing,” she said. “I enjoy myself in the gate. I love competing. I enjoy showcasing my skill and that’s what this is all about.”
Lemley – who hasn’t seen “30 Rock,” a show that debuted the year she was born, so save the Liz Lemon references – threw a big fist pump after crossing the finish line and didn’t know what to expect from judges. The aerial trick she does is called “The Slime” and is one she started doing after men’s mogul skier Mateo Jeannesson of Great Britain introduced her to it.
At the bottom of the hill, Lemley waited for Kauf, who was the penultimate skier. Sharing this moment with not only her but also Olivia Giacco and Tess Johnson, both of whom finished just outside of making finals in ninth and 10th place, respectively, was extra special.
“They’re amazing,” Lemley said. “They’re my sisters. They’re my family. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Lemley admitted she does not display her emotions and prefers staying calm, feeling the moment around her. Her father will be in Livigno for dual moguls action — when two skiers race each other at the same time — over the weekend but was not in attendance. She hadn’t spoken to him in the aftermath of the competition – her cellphone was still in her bag and she hadn’t seen it yet.
“It’s an incredible honor to have my friends and family here,” Lemley said. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Jaelin Kauf’s comeback speak volumes about competitor she is
Kauf was the lone American who did not automatically advance and actually finished 27th of 30.
“Just didn’t ski at all how I wanted to ski,” Kauf said with her second silver medal slung around her neck, this piece of hardware destined to likely join the first one that hangs on a wall at home.
Not putting down a run during qualifiers made Kauf question her competitiveness. She talked to her boyfriend and family – both her mother and father were competitive free skiers – about returning to the love of skiing.
As a skier who feels like she improves throughout the day, Kauf also told herself that having to qualify for finals was an advantage because it mirrored a normal competition schedule rather than jumping into finals cold. That worked out, and she entered the final in the No. 2 position.
Kauf’s support crew held up homemade cutouts of the letter “J.” Maybe the dozens of friends and family made the trip for the Italian vacation, she joked. Regardless of their reasons, the energy Kauf – who smiles when she hears her section chanting her name at the bottom of the hill – receives prior to hitting the slope helps power her. That was something she missed in China four years ago.
Finishing fourth or seventh or 11th with the run she put down would have been OK, Kauf said. She knew she belonged on the podium, though.
“It’s really cool to have another Olympic medal, to take silver home again,” Kauf said. “But, I mean, today I was really just trying to ski for myself today. This is the cherry on top.
“I’m so proud of Liz. It speaks volumes of our team and what our team is capable of, to have us go 1-2 on the Olympic stage.”
Next up for Lemley and Kauf is the duals moguls competition, which starts Saturday.
“Seeing I stacked up pretty good against the competition today, I’m really excited,” Kauf said.
