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After a month-long hiatus from World Cup competition, the Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team moguls shined today in sunny Almaty, Kazakhstan, at the Single Moguls World Cup Finals. Ali Makuga took second place, the first podium of his moguls career, and Hannah Soar took third place.
It was a picturesque day in Almaty, known as the center of freestyle skiing in Central Asia. The starting point is over 9,000 feet in elevation, making it the highest start of any World Cup moguls event on the circuit.
The United States had an excellent performance in the preliminary round, with all seven women and four men advancing to the finals. In the finals, Jaelyn Kauf, Ali Makuga, Olivia Giaccio, and Hannah Soar had solid runs and advanced to Round 6 of the Super Finals. Just above Bubbles, recent NorAm Cup overall winner Casey Hogg finished eighth, followed by Liz Lemley in ninth and Tess Johnson in 14th.
On the men’s side, Landon Wendler and Cole McDonald skated well, but were unable to advance to the Super Finals amidst stiff competition, finishing in 7th and 9th place, respectively. Dylan Walczyk finished 14th, and Nick Page gained too much speed in the middle and slid out, finishing 15th. Dylan Marcellini finished 24th outside of the final.
The Women’s Super Final was a close affair, with three American athletes holding onto their spots on the podium, including the final competitor, World Cup overall mogul and Crystal Globe winner Jakara Anthony. With today’s win, Anthony broke US moguls legend Hannah Carney’s record for most World Cup wins in a single season, taking her total to 13.
Makuga achieved a new personal best in second place, earning him his first podium in a World Cup individual moguls event. Makuga, the 2022-23 FIS Rookie of the Year, had a strong 2023-24, earning his first career podium in the Dual Moguls at Alpe d’Huez earlier this season. Just behind Makuga, Soa finished third, taking his third podium of the season. Kauf finished 4th, followed by Giaccio in 6th, just shy of finishing on the podium.
The team will compete Saturday in one of the two remaining dual moguls events of the season. Watch the action live on March 8 at 3:30 a.m. ET on skiandsnowboard.live.
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