5 USA Women in the top 6 at Deer Valley World Cup Moguls

Deer Valley World Cup Moguls Women's results Olivia Giaccio (USA) took first with a 75.42 run score. Jaelin Kauf (USA) placed second with a 70.87 and Hinako Tomitaka (JPN) finished third with a score of 67.33. Photo: Tyson Bolduc

Deer Valley World Cup Moguls Women's results Olivia Giaccio (USA) took first with a 75.42 run score. Jaelin Kauf (USA) placed second with a 70.87 and Hinako Tomitaka (JPN) finished third with a score of 67.33.

PARK CITY, Utah — On Thursday Feb. 1, Deer Valley once again hosted the annual Intermountain Health Freestyle World Cup. Five American women from the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team finished in the top six positions for the individual moguls competition.

Olivia Giaccio and Jaelin Kauf won first and second with scores of 75.42 and 70.87, respectively, for their second run. Hinako Tomitaka of Japan got third place. Fourth, fifth, and sixth went to USA’s Hannah Soar, Alli Macuga and Kasey Hogg. 

Giaccio scored her second World Cup win and made history with the first cork 10 landed in a women’s winning run. 

Alli Macuga grew up in Park City and skied on the Park City Ski and Snowboard Team. Not only was her mom, Amy, and Dad, Dan, in the crowd to watch her, but her sister Lauren, herself a member of the U.S. Ski Team, was in town from traveling the World Cup circuit as an alpine racer. The Macugas are staunch supporters of Park City’s Youth Sports Alliance (YSA), which provides financial opportunities for developing athletes.

Kauf and Hogg are both students at the University of Utah. Hogg skied for Wasatch Freestyle along with Nick Page. For 30 years now, that club has trained local moguls skiers and currently do so on the Crescent run off the Mountaineer Lift at Deer Valley.

On the men’s side of this first of three days, the one American in the top six was Park City’s Page, who finished in fifth. Page grew up first taking lessons through the Deer Valley Ski School and is now actually sponsored by the resort. 

Page is a graduate of Park City’s Winter Sports School, which holds classes in the summer to allow its high school students to travel and compete during the snowy months.

Men’s results

Mikaël Kingsbury of Canada was first with 82.17, and in second place was Ikuma Horishima from Japan with 79.15-second run scores. Third, fourth and sixth all represented Finland with Fillp Gravenfors, Walter Walberg and Albin Holmgren. Kingsbury also secured his 87th World Cup win, this puts Kingsbury ahead of Ingemar Stenmark, setting a new record for the most World Cup wins by a male athlete across any FIS Olympic discipline.

A rain-snow mix fell on the 2002 Olympic run called Champion to a raucous crowd below. 

 

“FIS Freestyle World Cup at Deer Valley is a signature event for Utah,” Utah Sports Commission President & CEO Jeff Robbins said in a statement. “Every year, thousands of fans gather to watch U.S. Ski & Snowboard athletes compete against the world.”

His organization points out that the event’s estimated economic impact is $7.56-9.24 million, with 150 skiers from the following 21 countries:

Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United States

VIP Freestyle Feast tickets were sold out all three nights and likely served this special beverage at the dining experiences.

Friday night will be aerials, and Saturday will be dual moguls. Walk-up spectating is encouraged.