Vail’s Lemley claims Olympic gold in women’s individual moguls

Before she starts all of her runs, Liz Lemley says the same thing to herself.

“Right before I drop in, I always say, ‘Let’s go,'” she said. “It hypes me up and I get really in the moment.”

On Wednesday, the moment couldn’t have been bigger for the Vail mogul skier. Lemley claimed Olympic gold in the women’s individual competition in Livigno, Italy.

“It symbolizes all my hard work and all of my families and trainers and anybody who has supported me — their hard work, too,” she told NBC as she held up her medal. “It’s just amazing.”

The 20-year-old, who lost last season after tearing her ACL prior to the World Cup opener, posted a score of 82.30 to top the eight-skier super final field. Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club alumna Jaelin Kauf (80.77) backed up her 2022 silver medal with another silver as France’s Perrine Laffont (78.00) picked up the bronze.

When asked about her injury, Lemley said, “It was a bummer at first.”

“Because that season I was coming in super strong, so it was unfortunate I didn’t get to showcase my ability. But over that next year, I just focused in on my rehab,” Lemley said. “I did a lot of thinking about skiing and my coach, (former SSCV mogul program director) John (Dowling) was supporting me the whole way and my family was as well. I just came in with the best mindset and at the end of the day, I love skiing.”

Lemley was the second-ranked skier after Tuesday’s qualification 1. She sat behind defending gold medalist Jakara Anthony, a seven-time crystal globe winner. After failing to finish in the top 20 on Tuesday, Kauf made the first final via qualification 2 on Wednesday morning.

In the super final, Anthony lost control in the middle section of the course and finished eighth.

Kauf — who swept the overall, individual, and dual moguls crystal globes last season — had the fastest time on the 245-meter course, stopping the clock in 25.11 seconds. The 29-year-old also tied Lemley’s turn score.

But the Ski and Snowboard Club Vail product’s aerial package was the difference. Lemley’s off-axis 720 on the top yielded a 7.7 and 7.8 execution score from the two judges and her bottom air scored 8.8 from both scorekeepers. Her total aerial score was 17.35 to Kauf’s 14.99.

“My teammates are my family, and I couldn’t have done any of this without them,” Lemley said. “They’re the best and I love her and to share it (with Kauf) is so special to me.”

Jonny Moseley is the only American male to win an Olympic mogul gold medal, which he did in 1998. Donna Weinbrecht (1992) and Hannah Kearney (2010) — who was on the NBC call on Wednesday — are the only two American women to win mogul golds.

Lemley and Kauf were the only Americans to make the eight-skier super final. Olivia Giaccio and Tess Johnson finished ninth and 10th, respectively, in the first final.

Johnson is the only athlete to have beaten Anthony this season on the World Cup. The SSCV alumna came into the Olympics as the second-ranked skier in the cup standings.

Johnson’s off-axis 720 top air in the first finals looked better than it did in qualification 1, but her grab was short-lived. The trick, which has a relatively high degree of difficulty, was given a 5.1 execution score from the judges. Johnson’s signature bottom air yielded an 8.1 and 8.2 score from the two judges. The two-time Olympian’s turns score (45.40) was sixth-best in the field and she made it to the bottom of the 245-meter course in 26.57 seconds, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to get to the super final.