A thrilling women’s moguls final in Livigno ended with a surprise champion and a painful twist for the favourite, as American skier Elizabeth Lemley delivered the run that mattered most to win Olympic gold at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games.
Lemley held her nerve in the last round on Wednesday, posting a fast, controlled descent through the bumps and keeping her landings clean on the jumps. The result capped a chaotic final that swung late when the defending Olympic champion, Australia’s Jakara Anthony, made a costly error on her deciding run.
Anthony, who entered the final as the reigning champion and one of the most consistent moguls skiers in the world, caught an edge midway down the course. The mistake disrupted her rhythm and ended any realistic chance of defending her title, leaving her last in the eight-skier final after she was unable to recover the line she needed.
Behind Lemley, the United States made it a gold-and-silver day. Jaelin Kauf earned the silver medal with a score of 80.77, combining sharp turns with strong air execution to keep pressure on the top spot until the final moments. France’s Perrine Laffont, one of the sport’s most decorated athletes, took bronze with 78.00.
For Canada, the headline performance belonged to Saskatoon’s Maïa Schwinghammer, who skied confidently through the medal round and finished fifth with 77.61. In a final where small details separated podium and near-podium, her score left her just outside the medals after a steady run that kept her competitive across turns, air, and time.
Schwinghammer was the lone Canadian to reach the medal round. Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert of Sainte-Adèle, Que., Vancouver’s Jessica Linton, and Ashley Koehler of Lac-Beauport, Que., did not advance to the final.
Moguls is often described as a sport of controlled chaos: athletes must balance speed with precision, absorb relentless impacts in the bumps, and still commit fully to aerial tricks under pressure. Wednesday’s final underlined that reality. A single edge catch, a slight mistimed landing, or a line that drifts off-centre can undo a medal push in seconds.
Lemley’s win was built on capitalizing when the door opened, keeping her composure while the field tightened. Kauf’s silver reinforced the depth of the American team in the discipline, while Laffont’s bronze added another Olympic medal to a career already stacked with major titles.
Women’s moguls — key results
- Gold: Elizabeth Lemley (USA)
- Silver: Jaelin Kauf (USA) — 80.77
- Bronze: Perrine Laffont (France) — 78.00
- 5th: Maïa Schwinghammer (Canada) — 77.61
- Jakara Anthony (Australia) finished 8th after an error on her final run
The outcome also reshapes the story of the women’s moguls event at these Games: instead of a straightforward title defence, the final became a test of resilience and timing, with Lemley emerging as the athlete who handled the last-run pressure best. Full event reporting and additional details are available via Reuters coverage of the women’s moguls final .
For Schwinghammer, a top-five Olympic finish is a strong statement on the sport’s biggest stage — and for fans watching in Livigno and beyond, the final delivered exactly what moguls promises every time: speed, skill, and a finish no one can fully predict.
