It may have taken nearly five years, but Kaila Kuhn (USA) is back on the podium once more. Facing strong winds, the 22-year-old attempted her first full-full-full of the season, falling backward on her landing but scoring 92.29 points to take third for her first podium finish since Deer Valley in 2021. This is the second time this season where four women in the superfinal attempted a triple jump. Winter Vinecki (USA) and Laura Peel (AUS) attempted their own full-full-fulls; however, both suffered hard crash landings to place 5th and 6th, respectively. 

"This couldn't have been a more exciting way to start the weekend,” Kuhn said. “I came into this competition at the bottom of the Olympic qualifier list, so being able to do this today was so huge for me."

Australia's Danielle Scott claimed her 7th World Cup victory in Lake Placid, New York, after stomping down a cleanly executed double full full. This afternoon's victory marks Scott's first World Cup victory since 2023 in Engadin, Switzerland, where she bested Peel by over four points. Strong winds prevented Scott from attempting a triple of her own, but the Australian is determined to stay in form to compete with one in the future.

“I want to do them, so let’s get Mother Nature on our side," she said.

China's Xu Mengtao, the current leader of the World Cup standings, was the only athlete in the women's superfinal to cleanly land her full-full-full, a triple jump with one of the higher degrees of difficulty. It's a jump that won her the season opener in Ruka, Finland, and one that appeared to give her the lead in Lake Placid. However, Scott's form and landing edged out Xu's jump difficulty component after Xu struggled to maintain her form in the air, leading Xu by 1.87 points.

"A lot of highs and lows," Scott said. "Coming back to triples has been tricky. Today, I just needed to go prove myself, and I did that, so I’m stoked."

With her second-place finish, Xu maintains her spot at the top of the World Cup standings 72 points ahead of Vinecki. Kong Fanyu follows in third with 253 points. 

Wang Xindi (CHN) earned his 4th World Cup victory after landing a double full-full-double full, the only athlete aside from compatriot Sun Jiaxu to attempt five twists in Lake Placid. Despite a slight backslap on his landing, Wang scored 103.50 points to claim his first win of the season. Ukraine's Yan Havriuk took second for the first World Cup podium of his career, scoring 94.12 points with a full full-double full. Qi Guangpu (CHN) finished third, earning the same score as Havriuk, although Havriuk placed ahead with better jump form.

“I’m so happy and very excited," Wang said. "Today, the weather was not good, and a lot of us chose safety today. Thanks to my team and wife for helping me get here.” 

Wang is the third Chinese winner in men's aerials this season, following Jiaxu and Li Tianma. Jiaxu still leads the World Cup standings at 280 points, with Tianma trailing him in second and Dmytro Kotovskyi (UKR) in third.

Derek Krueger (USA) was the only American to advance to the superfinal in men's aerials. He finished in 4th with a full-full-full, his career-best finish at the World Cup stage. 

Aerials competition concludes in Lake Placid on January 12.