Liz Lemley (USA) is headed to her first Olympic Games. Following tough weather conditions in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire, that delayed moguls competition the previous day, the 19-year-old finished 2nd in the women's event to secure her spot on the U.S. moguls team for the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

This is Lemley's seventh career podium finish on the World Cup stage. Last week, she finished 2nd in a dual moguls event as part of a U.S. podium sweep. With all of this season's World Cup events serving as selection events for the U.S. Olympic team, that pair of 2nd-place finishes was enough to get Lemley one of two automatic nominations that were up for grabs this season.

The other automatic berth went to Tess Johnson, who officially secured her spot after one of the two competitions on the Waterville Valley program was cancelled this week. Lemley and Johnson will join the prequalified Jaelin Kauf on the roster for the Milan Cortina Games.

Fellow American Olivia Giaccio finished 3rd with 76.60 points, navigating the course with great control and tight turns. Giaccio's podium finish solidifies her 3rd-place position in the World Cup standings heading into Milan Cortina, although the final rankings remain to be determined with competition continuing following the Olympic Games.

A fourth American woman will be added to the Olympic team, either as a discretionary selection or via objective criteria. It's likely that Giaccio, who now has four podium finishes in five events, will get that spot.

Aside from Lemley and Giaccio, several other American women qualified for the first round of the final, with only Kasey Hogg joining them in the superfinal. Hogg, who landed a backflip truckdriver on her second jump of the superfinal, finished 5th overall. Johnson (8th), Kauf (10th), Alli Macuga (12th) and Kylie Kariotis (16th) did not advance out of the first final.

Jakara Anthony (AUS) won the 16th moguls World Cup victory of her career with 81.17 points. The yellow bib holder grabbed her skis on both jumps, increasing the level of difficulty in her run and giving her a slight edge over Lemley. Anthony continues to lead the World Cup rankings with a whopping 340 points while Johnson sits in 2nd with 262.

Nick Page (USA) was the other American to qualify for the Olympic Games while in Waterville Valley this week. He was the only man to automatically qualify for the U.S. moguls team via the selection events. The rest of the team, which can include up to four men, will be named at a later date.

Page, who competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, took 5th place in the men's event after landing a cork 1440 on his second jump. He was the second athlete to attempt the jump in a FIS-level competition, as well as the first American to do so at a World Cup event. Compatriot Charlie Mickel finished in 6th, just .31 points behind Page.

Japan's Ikuma Horishima claimed his 18th moguls World Cup victory, his second in Waterville Valley, with 85.56 points. He landed a backflip with a full twist and a cork 1080 to gain the lead by over five points. Horishima remains the leader of the World Cup standings, with Matt Graham (AUS) and Page rounding out the top three.

Sweden's Filip Gravenfors finished 2nd, his best World Cup finish since 2023, followed by Shota Hirayama (JPN), who claimed his first World Cup podium with 79.47 points.

"It was very nice for us to have a podium together," Horishima said of sharing the podium with Hirayama. "I hope many more to come."

Moguls and dual moguls World Cup events will resume after the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.