Wednesday morning had some early excitement for Team USA with a one-two punch.
In the women’s mogul finals, Elizabeth Lemley made quite the Olympic debut.
After sitting in second place in the qualifying round, the 20-year-old put down the gold-medal winning run but also had the added benefit of a slip-up from defending champion Jakara Anthony.
She tallied a final score of 82.30, as her big and rowdy cheering section of friends and family went crazy over the Vail, Col. native’s debut.
Not long after, the victory was made even sweeter.
Fellow American Jaelin Kauf finished second with a score of 80.77.
After Kauf came down the course, she and Lemley and the other two American finalists jumped and hugged in celebration as the podium looked more and more clear down the stretch.
2026 WINTER OLYMPICS
France’s Perrine Laffont — the 2018 Pyeongchang champion — claimed the bronze with a score of 78.00.
Lemley’s upset win was quite a shock to the crowd, as Anthony was the last to go down the course and was expected to steal the lead from the young Olympian.
However, the Australian lost control after the first jump and it cost her the crown.
Anthony, who led the way after the first final round, was looking to make history as the first female athlete to win women’s moguls title twice.
But that will be delayed for another four years.
With the second-place finish, Kauf, 29, won her second consecutive silver medal after winning her first and only other Olympic medal at the 2022 Beijing Games.
The Alta, Wyo. native moved on after a strong qualifying round Wednesday morning ahead of the final, while the other three Americans, including Lemley and Olivia Giaccio and Tess Johnson, advanced in the first round of qualifiers Tuesday.
