For a moment, the hometown crowd thought all was lost for Jaelin Kauf’s Olympic run in Italy.
The 29-year-old from Alta was still in medal contention when she got knocked off her feet in the semifinal round of the Milan-Cortina Games’ dual moguls.
Faced with one of the most competitive line-ups, Kauf was up against France’s Perrine Laffont.
About 40 Kauf family friends gathered at 2:30 a.m. at her family’s bar in the eastern Idaho town of Tetonia, eyes fixed to a projector livestream. When Kauf tumbled on the bumps after the first aerial trick, a collective sigh accepted that Kauf might be out of the running for the gold medal final.
She slid a few feet and then pointed her skis back downhill.
This head-to-head freestyle event was Kauf’s last shot at a medal at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games. She came into the competition as one of the top-ranked skiers, having just notched a second career Olympic silver in the single moguls. Her strong season performance earned her a bye for the first round of duals. But then she faced one of the toughest line-ups. The tumble could’ve easily put her out of the running.
But the Alta-native carved her name into skiing history on Valentine’s Day when she became the sport’s most-decorated U.S. women’s moguls skier in Olympic competition, according to NBC.
On the other side of the screen Kauf’s competitor skied off the course. That’s an automatic loss. Kauf squeaked into the gold medal round, just minutes later.
Soon, she was on the podium again, finishing behind Jakara Anthony of Australia for her career’s third silver Olympic medal.
“I was really going for gold, but I guess ‘Silver Jae’ has a ring to it, so I’m living up to the name,” Kauf said after the competition, according to NBC.
Family friend Beth Byrd saw it all happen in real time.
“Of course, we’d love to see her get a gold medal, but we know that she’s so happy to have that silver medal, too,” she said. “Anytime that she is on the podium, we’re happy.”
Watts Barden watched Kauf grow up on the slopes of Grand Targhee Resort.
“She has a saying, deliver the love, and we’re all here delivering the love right back to her,” he said.
This story has been updated to reflect how Kauf secured a bye. – Ed.
