Olivia Giaccio continued her phenomenal and constant season within the final World Cup moguls competitors earlier than the Olympics. The 25-year previous Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club alum positioned third at Waterville, New York, on Jan. 16. She headlines a strong showing by all 4 SSWSC alumni current within the competitors — who all positioned within the top-10.
Avital Carroll of Austria and Jaelin Kauf took fourth and tenth, respectively. It was Carroll’s career-best end. On the boys’s facet, Landon Wendler additionally had his greatest end of the season, coming in seventh.
“It’s awesome skiing with those three, and it brings familiarity and support to competition,” defined Giaccio. “We get to share in this experience together.”
Her three runs in New York have been every inside 0.54 factors of one another — 76.71 in qualification, 77.14 in last Run 1 and 76.60 in last Run 2.
Through every run, she was in podium place.
Stellar season
Giaccio has completed on the rostrum in every mogul competitors this season, and in her single dual-mogul competitors she positioned fourth.
“I just keep trying to put one foot in front of the other,” Giaccio stated. “We’re halfway through the season and I just want to be the best I can.”
Waterville was the final competitors earlier than the Olympic break. Giaccio represented the United States in 2022 in Beijing, taking sixth.
“It will be nice to have a true Olympic experience without COVID-19,” she stated.
Strong bonds
Giaccio and Kauf have paced the American mogul skiers all season. Kauf is trying to repeat as a medalist in Milan-Cortina. She took silver in 2022.
The friendship between the duo transcends snowboarding.
“Very few people have been there for each other the way Jaelin and I have,” stated Giaccio. “We’ve been through a lot of skiing and life milestones together.”