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America’s biggest mogul star has once again claimed the title of fastest female mogul skier on the planet.
Former Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club skier Jaelyn Kauf can ski down any mogul venue in the world faster than a hiccup. Her speed is a huge points advantage in competition and is what sets her apart from the majority of skiers on the World Cup circuit.
Kauf, 27, acknowledged the potential downside of going too fast, increasing the chance of making a mistake and potentially losing points. This is especially true for singles.
Fortunately for Kauf, she is comfortable coming down the mountain and has enough confidence and ambition to take the risk of falling off the podium.
“The closer you can get to the maximum pace time on each course, the more points you’ll get,” Kauf said. “Depending on the speed of the course and the rest of the field, you can make quite a point difference and it helps a lot. For me, letting it go and gaining speed is where my skiing grows.” I think it definitely brings out my best skis.”
For the 2023-24 World Cup season, Kauf wanted to focus on maintaining his speed while incorporating more difficult tricks into his more consistent runs. This season, the trick was the Cork 7s. Kauf has performed the trick sporadically in matches over the past few seasons, but this year he decided to perform it at nearly every World Cup event.
As the 2026 Winter Olympics approach, Kauf recognizes the importance of getting used to higher-intensity tricks in order to reach the top two years later representing the United States and Italy’s Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. Masu.
This season, the U.S. Mogul Team made significant strides toward an incredibly successful season. Locally, Steamboat’s Landon Wendler, Olivia Giaccio and Kauf all posted the best seasons of their careers with at least one podium finish.
By the end of the season, six American women’s players were in the top 10 of the World Cup rankings, with Kauf at No. 2 and Giaccio at No. 3. Wendler was ranked 18th among men.
Kauf has 11 World Cup podiums this winter, including one World Cup win at the season opener in December.
“Personally, winning the duals in Sweden this year was a highlight for me,” Kauf said. “That was the first dual event of the season and I felt like I had a really good run every time, but that doesn’t always happen in duals. Usually you ski a few skis a day. You can’t always skate perfectly.”
After coming off the best World Cup season of his career, Kauf won his sixth and seventh U.S. championship titles in moguls at the U.S. Freestyle Moguls Championships held at New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley Resort on Saturday and Sunday.
This season, Kauf and the Moguls team had the opportunity to compete in world-class venues such as Italy, France, Georgia, Canada, and Kazakhstan. While the views are spectacular, Kauf admits that keeping up with the hectic World Cup schedule can be difficult.
“When the last event of the season comes around, your body feels it after being on the road for so long and you’re generally exhausted and ready to take a break and go home,” Kauf said. “Our team is doing a really great job of making the most of all of these locations and creating great experiences everywhere.”
At the end of this year’s tour, Kauf and several teammates were able to visit Thailand and Italy’s Tuscany region while traveling to Kazakhstan and Italy for the final two World Cup events of the year . Kauf said these short trips are a great way to combat the fatigue of a four-month season.
Kauf, who is currently on vacation, will spend all of April and a good portion of May resting, taking a trip to the beach, and enjoying a vacation with friends and family. But there’s still a lingering feeling in the back of her mind as she nears the end of the best season of her career.
“Every year I figure it out a little bit and step up my game a little bit,” Kauf said. “Being able to find that consistency and keep running week after week to get on the podium in almost every event is huge for me. My goal is to be the best in the world and get to the top of it. It’s great to be second in the individual all-around, but it motivates me to get serious about my skiing and step up to be on the podium next year.”
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