[OLYMPICS] USA Defends Mixed Team Aerials Title at Livigno, Italy - SnowBrains

"The scoreboard is reset for Final 2, meaning every jump must be landed cleanly to remain in medal contention. Scores are awarded for air, form and landing, with form accounting for 50%, landing 30% and air 20% of the total, which is then multiplied by the degree of difficulty. Under that pressure, Kuhn, Curran and Lillis stomped their landings, combining for 325.35 points to secure gold ahead of Switzerland on 296.91."

"Australia emerged as a surprise finalist as it was the only team to field two women and one man, while the other nations selected two men and one woman. The difference reflects the technical ceiling in the sport: men are currently the only athletes landing quintuple-twisting jumps in competition, and only a small number of women consistently land quadruple-twisting tricks at the international level. However, Australia simply does not have male skiers that can land high difficulty jumps."

"Lillis delivered a back double full-full-full for 117.19 points, while Curran added 113.72 and Kuhn 94.44 to seal the win. "All of us came in so motivated after that individual event because it didn't really go any of our ways," Kuhn said. "We came in today motivated and strong as ever. We did some of the best jumps we've ever done and put it down when it counted.""

Team USA won gold in the Mixed Team Aerials at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, defending the Beijing 2022 title. The American team of Chris Lillis, Kaila Kuhn and Connor Curran advanced to Final 2 in first place after Final 1. Seven teams competed in Final 1, with the top four progressing; China, Australia and Switzerland joined the United States in the medal round. Australia was the only finalist to field two women and one man, reflecting differences in available high-difficulty male jumps. Final 2 used a reset scoreboard and judges scored air, form and landing weighted by degree of difficulty.

Read at SnowBrains