Ski and Snowboard Club Vail mogul skiers claim silver medals on day 1 of FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships
Anya Censi/FIS
Ski and Snowboard Club Vail athletes claimed two medals on the opening day of the FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships. Porter Huff and Abby McLarnon — who is now on the U.S. Ski Team — both won silver in the individual moguls event on Thursday morning in Airolo, Switzerland.
“Our young international crew all had great showings, and we look forward to seeing them move up through the FIS ranks in the future,” said SSCV mogul program director Freddy Mooney in an email from the venue. Mooney has four athletes in Airolo: Huff, McLarnon, Jiah Cohen and Mahlia Torres. They qualified for the event based on finishes from U.S. Freestyle Selections and NorAm competitions throughout the 2025-2026 season.
“Porter had a small mistake in qualifying and wound up sixth, but came back strong for second place in both finals as well,” Mooney stated in recapping Thursday’s events. “Mahlia (Torres) was ninth with a solid showing at her first Junior Worlds. Jiah (Cohen) had a great morning, qualified in fourth, but pushed a bit too much in the first final and crashed.”
Nova Nilsson became the first Swedish woman to win a junior gold medal, topping the field with a 70.94 score in the finals. Mclarnon, who won a bronze medal last year in Almaty, Kazakhstan, posted a 69.73 on the Ladebby Course as Mio Tani of Japan came in third. Elis Moberg of Sweden was not the fastest down the course but excelled in the air and turns to claim a nearly 5-point victory.
“I had two tough years with injuries, so it’s really nice to have a first,” the 19-year-old told FIS. “To make these runs here, it’s magic.”
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Huff scored 74.49 and fellow American Camden Lewis (74.11) claimed bronze.
The Americans had three women in the super final, with Killington-based athletes Eden Kruger and Victoria Johnson placing fourth and fifth. Winter Park 15-year-old Alivia Martin was sixth in qualification but did not finish her run in the first final.
Vail also has five international athletes competing in Airolo. Matias Ronkainen of Finland posted a DNF in the qualification. Great Britain teammates Alexander Stewart and Eliana Carr were 31st and 27th, respectively, and Spanish athletes Remy and Oscar Trujillo finished 39th and 45th, respectively.
The 2026 Junior World Championships continues with a team dual moguls event on March 21 and the individual dual moguls on March 22.
