Kauf celebrates first career title in Almaty, Kingsbury adds more Crystal Globes
Mar 01, 2025·Freestyle)
Almaty’s Shymbulak Mountain Resort made for a picturesque backdrop as the season’s most consistent Moguls skiers were rewarded for their showing all season.
Jaelin Kauf (USA) and Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) each picked up two Crystal Globes by the end of the Moguls competition, with the American taking her first titles in Dual Moguls and Overall, while Kingsbury added to his collection in the Moguls and Overall.
For Kauf, the cherry came on top of another World Cup win in Dual Moguls after she beat Rino Yanagimoto (JPN) 29-6.
It was the 28-year-old’s seventh World Cup win this season, and a fifth in her pet event.
“That’s pretty incredible,” Kauf said about her first career titles. “I’ve been working at that for a long time. So cool to win today, and I'm really excited about those titles, it’s really special.”
Kauf will take lots of momentum and less pressure as the circuit travels back to Europe for its final stop in Livigno, Italy.
Anastassiya Gorodka (KAZ) celebrated a coveted podium position on home snow as she took a 21-14 win over Tess Johnson (USA) in the small final to finish third.
It is the Kazakh’s second top-three finish of the season, and also her second in Dual Moguls.
Kingsbury adds more Crystal Globes on “dad podium”
The men’s Dual Moguls contest ended with a “dad podium”, with the top three skiers all young fathers.
Moguls star Mikael Kingsbury (CAN), who already secured a Crystal Globe in Moguls the day before, locked in another one in the Overall standings.
He did so en route to winning the Dual Moguls – his 98th career World Cup victory – beating Ikuma Horishima (JPN) 24-11 in the big final.
The two Crystal Globes were the 27th and 28th to his impressive haul over an illustrious career.
Said the Canadian: “Very happy that I got the singles and the overall title, as well as a good lead over Ikuma (in Dual Moguls). It’s looking good.”
The Canadian has been unbeaten in Almaty over three years, securing the Moguls and Dual Moguls victories since the 2023 edition.
He said: “It’s been crazy. Three years in a row winning on this course, it’s awesome. I like it here. It’s also nice to get the dad podium. We’ve been looking at it all season but I'm glad we made it.”
Australia’s Matt Graham (AUS) completed the top three, taking third place after beating up-and-comer Jung Daeyoon (KOR) 22-13.
With the Moguls contest in Almaty now wrapped up, the aerialists will compete on Sunday. Qualifications start at 09:45, while finals take place at 14:00.
QUICK LINKS
Almaty World Cup FIS data page (start lists, results, etc)
Photos: Moguls
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