LIVIGNO, Italy — American Jaelin Kauf added another silver medal in a dramatic women’s double tycoon event, while solo tycoon Elizabeth Lemley added a bronze medal.
Kauf lost the gold medal final to Australia’s Jakara Anthony, a pre-Olympic favorite who avenged a mistake in her final game at Solo earlier this week.
Big Two ski racing is a new event at this year’s Olympics, where skiers will compete in a series of head-to-head battles, advancing in single-elimination rounds until a winner is determined. However, time is not the only factor as the judges will also score rounds and skills just like in the regular Gangster format.
Things got crazy in the semifinals. Facing Frenchman Perrine Laffont, Kauf improved technically, but both skiers fell. But Lafont got stuck while trying to keep her balance after completing the first move, and she had to glide around the gate incorrectly, which essentially resulted in her disqualification.
Soon after, Kauf tripped over a mogul, but stayed on course, got up and kept going.
In Lemley’s semi-final against Anthony, she lost the ability to land on her second jump and slid down the hill prone.
Minutes later, the 20-year-old from Vail, Colo., returned to the ski slopes for bronze, losing to LaFont by 0.99 seconds, but she tied the score in the air and performed a more difficult trick on her second jump to win 18-17 from the judges. When the scores were announced, Lemley seemed stunned by the result.
Then it was Kauf’s turn. Although the race was close – Anthony won by 0.56 seconds, Anthony also had better skills and won 20-15 on points.
Two other Americans, Olivia Giacchio and Tess Johnson, lost in the quarterfinals.
