Kauf headlines week for Steamboat’s Olympic athletes

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Jaelin Kauf during the women’s dual moguls finals on Feb. 14, 2026 at the Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, Italy.
Chris Randour/U.S. Ski Team

The first full week of the Milan Cortina Olympic Games has wrapped up. Eleven of 12 Steamboat athletes competed, and below is a recap of how each fared.

Jaelin Kauf grabbed two silver medals and became the most decorated moguls skier in United States history. She has three silver medals across three Olympics. Her first was in 2022 in Beijing.

“It was an amazing Olympic experience all around,” said Kauf. “I’m so happy I was able to have so much fun skiing out there.”



Olivia Giaccio during the women’s dual moguls finals on Feb. 14 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, Italy.
Chris Randour/U.S. Ski Team

Women’s moguls

Kauf led an incredible showing by the U.S. women’s moguls team. The U.S. skiers secured four of six possible medals across two events.

Kauf won silver medals in each of the two events. The other two were a gold medal in moguls and a bronze medal in dual moguls, both by Vail’s Liz Lemley.



“It was super fun to be a part of the Olympic debut of dual moguls,” said Kauf. “My final run was to leave it all out there, so that’s just what I did.”

Fellow American Olivia Giaccio achieved two top-10 finishes. She was sixth in dual moguls, barely bested by eventual gold medalist Jakara Anthony of Australia, and ninth in moguls.

Giaccio credited her family with getting her through.

“My family and friends made this one so special for me,” said Giaccio. “It was incredible having such an amazing support crew at the bottom of the course that I could share the moment with.”

Avital Carroll — who competes for Austria due to the Nationality Act, which grants citizenship to direct descendants of those who were forced out during the Holocaust — was knocked out of dual moguls by Giaccio. She placed seventh in moguls and 10th in dual moguls.

The U.S. moguls women’s team during the Snoop Dogg meet-and-greet on Feb. 12 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, Italy.
Chris Randour/U.S. Ski Team

Men’s moguls

Steamboat’s Landon Wendler made his Olympic debut in moguls and advanced all the way to the first finals round, where he was eventually knocked out of the competition. He placed 17th.

Wendler faced fellow American Charlie Mickel in the dual moguls round of 1/16. Mickel edged Wendler by a score of 23-12, and Wendler placed 26th.

Steamboat’s Landon Wendler during the men’s moguls qualifiers on Feb. 10 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, Italy.
Chris Randour/U.S. Ski Team

Ski jumping

Both Steamboat ski jumpers, Annika Belshaw and Jason Colby, competed in the mixed team event. Of the four Americans, Belshaw and Colby had the best showing for their respective categories. Colby scored 129.3 points and Belshaw scored 111.1 points. The team finished seventh.

Belshaw and Colby would then compete in individual large hill ski jumping.

Belshaw qualified for the final round but was disqualified for her skis being 1 centimeter longer than allowed. Colby placed 31st, failing to advance to the final round.

Medalists during the women’s dual moguls finals on Feb. 14 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics in Livigno, Italy.
Chris Randour/U.S. Ski Team

Nordic combined

Niklas Malacinski was the lone Steamboat athlete to compete in Nordic combined. At 21, he was hoping to follow in the footsteps of Steamboat greats like Todd Lodwick, Billy Demong and Johnny Spillane.

His inaugural race was the Normal Hill Individual Gundersen/10K, where he jumped 97.5 meters. He started the cross-country race with a 55-second handicap — good for 19th.

He moved up one spot during the race, finishing 18th with a time of 33 minutes and 39.1 seconds.

Cody Winters (yellow) and Jake Vedder (blue) during the SBX event in the Milan Cortina Olympics on Feb.15, 2026.
Isami Kiyooka/U.S. Ski and Snowboard

Snowboard

Maddy Schaffrick’s amazing run from coach to athlete ended in the women’s halfpipe, when the Steamboat skier placed 15th. Only the top-12 advance.

Steamboat’s Cody Winters was knocked out of the men’s snowboard cross competition in heartbreaking fashion. In his round of 1/8 heat, Winters was in second position, when fellow American Jake Vedder came from behind at the last second and narrowly edged Winters. In the same round, Australian Jarryd Hughes was never able to catch the leaders in his heat and was knocked out. The top-2 riders in their respective heats advance.

Alpine skiing

Dual sport athlete Ester Ledecka, who trained in Steamboat Springs and competes for the Czech Republic, also competed in snowboard parallel giant slalom. She did not finish her super-G race.

The only Steamboat athlete who is yet to compete is Riley Jacobs, in women’s ski halfpipe. Her first run is set for 11:30 a.m. Thursday.

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