Liz Lemley and Tess Johnson hit podium as U.S. sweeps top-four spots in dual moguls World Cup in Val St. Come

Liz Lemley officially inserted her name into the Olympic conversation, Jaelin Kauf returned to the top step of the podium and the American women swept the top-4 spots in the dual moguls competition on Saturday in Val St. Come, Canada.

“I was definitely going for the yellow bib, for the win today, just trying to leave it all out there,” Kauf said after defeating Lemley 23-12 in the final. “And (it) made it all that (much) better having all these girls up there and sweeping the top 4 together — it’s pretty insane.”

“I’m super stoked about it,” added Lemley, who achieved her first podium since 2024 after an ACL injury ended her 2024-25 season before it started. Lemley didn’t have much to say about her performance, but added, “I like mogul skiing and I’m happy to be here.”

Tess Johnson dispatched Olivia Giaccio, who fell in the small final, to round out the podium. The last time the women swept a moguls podium was in 2021 in Deer Valley. On that day, Ski and Snowboard Club Vail’s Kai Owens took the win, Hannah Soar placed second and Johnson defeated Yuliya Galysheva for third.

“I literally haven’t been able to stop smiling all night,” Johnson said. “I’m so proud of all of us … This is incredible.”

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Johnson has been on the podium in three of the four World Cups this year, including a win in the season-opener and a runner-up finish on the first day of action in Val St. Come on Friday night. Coming off a campaign she said was her best one yet in 2025 — a season that included three podiums, her first win since 2018 and a world championship silver medal — Johnson has raised the level in the Olympic year.

“I’m having a lot of fun this year, but tonight is all about our U.S. women’s team,” Johnson continued. “We have an amazing team and I think we’re just doing a great job of putting the passion first. I think that’s what we do so well — we lead with fun and love and yeah, we’re going to keep doing that.” 

U.S. Olympic selection heats up

The U.S. can bring up to four women for the moguls competitions in Milano Cortina this February. Jaelin Kauf earned an automatic spot after sweeping the moguls, dual moguls and overall crystal globes last season. Up to two spots will be nominated based on an athlete’s best single top-3 finish at selection events. Ties will be broken by looking at an athlete’s second best podium result, a process that can be repeated as many times as necessary.

Johnson and Kauf are the only two Americans to win a World Cup during the selection period. Johnson’s second-best result is a second and her third-best result is the third from Saturday. Olivia Giaccio has reached the podium three times this season, but never finished better than second. Saturday’s second was Lemley’s best finish of the season; the 19-year-old also has a fourth from Ruka and a seventh from Friday’s individual moguls.

The U.S. can also choose one athlete via discretionary selection. The qualification period for Olympic freestyle skiing ends on Jan. 18, 2026, and quota places officially will be allocated the next day. The entry list for Milan Cortina will be finalized by Jan. 26, 2026. The final selection events are Jan. 15-16 in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.

“It will be awesome to have the last Olympic qualifier in the U.S. and keep the ball rolling,” Giaccio said. “Everyone is really pushing it right now and definitely making the Olympic qualifying really tough for sure.”