Tess Johnson kicked off the new freestyle skiing World Cup season in style, claiming her third career World Cup win as competition began in Ruka, Finland. Several other Americans also reached the podium across the moguls and aerials events, signaling a strong start for Team USA.
Johnson, a 2018 Olympian, captured the first of two women’s moguls events held over the weekend. The victory marks her first World Cup win since February and only her third overall, the first coming when she was just 17.
This early-season triumph strengthens Johnson’s push for a spot on the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic roster. Under current qualification rules, two women will automatically qualify based on their best World Cup podium finish this season making the already-deep U.S. moguls field one of the most competitive in all of Team USA’s selections.
Her teammate Olivia Giaccio added to the momentum with a 2nd-place finish in Monday’s moguls event, placing herself firmly in the hunt for one of those automatic Olympic berths.
The only athlete who has already secured her Olympic spot is Jaelin Kauf, the reigning World Cup champion in moguls and dual moguls. Though she missed Sunday’s final due to a crash in qualifying, Kauf rebounded with a 3rd-place finish on Monday.
Additional strong U.S. results included:
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Elizabeth Lemley – 4th (Sunday)
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Kasey Hogg – 6th (Monday)
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Alli Macuga – 7th (Monday)
Monday’s women’s moguls event was won by Australia’s Olympic champion Jakara Anthony, returning to action after missing most of last season with a broken collarbone.
Men’s Moguls: Kingsbury Sits Out, Horishima and Graham Take Wins
In the men’s field, Canadian moguls legend Mikael Kingsbury entered the season just one victory away from an unprecedented 100 World Cup wins. But after qualifying 4th on Sunday, Kingsbury withdrew before the final and skipped Monday’s event as well. He previously revealed he was dealing with a groin injury.
His next chance at win No. 100 will now come in January when the World Cup tour heads to his home province of Quebec.
With Kingsbury absent, Japan’s Ikuma Horishima and Australia’s Matt Graham claimed victories in the two Ruka events.
Team USA’s Nick Page led the American men, finishing 3rd on Sunday and 4th on Monday, putting him in position for an automatic Olympic qualification via podium finishes. Up to three U.S. men can earn automatic spots this way. Charlie Mickel followed closely with a 5th-place result on Monday.
Aerials: Okipniuk and Xu Take Titles, Lillis Earns U.S. Podium
Saturday’s opening aerials competition saw Ukraine’s Oleksandr Okipniuk win the men’s event, while China’s three-time Olympic medalist Xu Mengtao claimed victory among the women.
For the U.S., Chris Lillis took 3rd place, boosting his Olympic chances. Teammate Quinn Dehlinger, who has already qualified for Milan Cortina, finished 4th.