Jaelin Kauf doubles down with second World Cup Win in Dual Moguls

PARK CITY, Utah — USA’s Jaelin Kauf and Japan’s Ikuma Horishima achieved a rare double-double, each winning gold in the individual moguls on Thursday and the dual moguls on Saturday. Their victories took place in front of an estimated 5,000 spectators at the Stifel Intermountain Health FIS Freestyle International World Cup at Deer Valley. 

Horishima of Japan won his second first place for the men, second went to Canada’s one and only Mikael Kingbury, and third place was earned by Pavel Kolmakov from Kahzakstan. USA’s Kauf got first, France’s Perrine Laffont was second, and USA’s Olivia Giaccio took third.

Womens and mens dual moguls events will make their sport debuts in the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Games.

U.S Ski and Snowboard athletes Tess Johnson and Kasey Hogg also placed in the top ten in the Deer Valley duals.

“Tonight was awesome, it’s always so fun to come here, for my fifth time at these Deer Valley world cup events.” Hogg told TownLift. “It’s extra special to come back and compete here in front of this giant crowd after training with the Wasatch Freestyle Team on it this run for so many years. Having  three of my teammates in the top four tonight is, so amazing.” 

This photo shows the sheer speed with which Kauf raced into the finish corral coming into contact, hard, with the crash pads not during just one run, but two.

Alli Macuga, the first female moguls skier sponsored by Deer Valley, the resort after she grew up skiing here, was at the event watching and cheering on her aerials teammates on Friday night.“I enjoy being here supporting them because I’m always grateful for all the friends and family who come out to support me,” she told TownLIft.

“It’s a really fun event, with the biggest crowd we see all year, so I’m very excited for that. But with the snow coming in, I think the course should be super fun. And of course, it’s a very challenging course, and this year especially, it’s extra challenging, but that just makes it all the more fun, especially for duels. 

Macuga ended up having a big bobble on the course in the duals round of 32 against Canada on Saturday, her opponent then went directly on to race and be defeated by Perrine Laffont in the next round.

Nick Page, who was the first-ever Deer Valley-sponsored athlete, hugged it out after Kingbury eeked him out across the finish line in the duals’ quarterfinals.

Here’s Page photographed in the prelims. 

Nate Gendron of Wasatch Freestyle and a student at Park City High School won against Switzerland then not against Sweden, but made it into the round of 32.

Kauf’s boyfriend, Parkite and retired 3-time Olympian Brad Wilson, brother of Olympic medalist in moguls Bryon who coaches at Deer Valley for Wasatch Freestyle, created and carved the awards a wooden ski with an old-school leather strap bear claw-style decorative binding given to all podium placers all weekend. No one minded the awards becoming completely soaked by the shaken and spraying Champaign at the podium celebration.