Kauf unstoppable in Japan, Hiroshima hangs on for Dual Moguls win

It was a happy return to Japan for Jaelin Kauf (USA), after she won the Dual Moguls at the Nanto-Toyama World Cup to lead a sweep of the podium for the US team. 

It was in the Land of the Rising Sun where Kauf took her maiden World Cup win, also in her favoured Dual Moguls event, almost a decade ago in Tazawako. 

This time, she beat teammate Olivia Giaccio (USA) 20-15 to the win, while Tess Johnson (USA) completed the podium after a 19-16 victory over Perrine Laffont (FRA).

It is the second time in as many Dual Moguls contests this season that the US team have swept the podium, a testament to the strength and depth of the women’s team. At the Val St Côme event in January, it was Elizabeth Lemley (USA) who took the runner-up spot. 

Given the difficult conditions of the soft snow at the Taira Ski Area, the victory was not Kauf’s cleanest run, but a win is still a win. 

Said Kauf, a double silver medallist from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games: “It was quite the dual in the end with Olivia. I was just trying to hang on, keep everything together and prevent a blowout. 

“I hit the bottom air as soon as I could, had no idea what was going on with (Olivia). Just had to hang on and make it to the bottom.

“It was so fun out here, just so happy to be back in Japan. We love competing here so much, the crowd is so amazing and so special to share the podium again with the US girls.

In the men’s contest, runs were as unpredictable, even chaotic at times. In the big final, both Ikuma Horishima (JPN) and Rasmus Stegfeldt (SWE) lost control of their runs, but it was the home favourite that managed to cross the finish line. 

It was a dream result for Horishima, on the Moguls World Cup’s first return to Japan in six years.

He said: “When I came down at the end of the course, it was unbelievable to know that I had the win. I wanted to make a clean run, but still, to finish number one is very nice.”

Shima Kawaoka (JPN) earned the first World Cup podium of his career, beating teammate Takuya Shimakawa (JPN) to third place.

Horishima, who earned a silver and a bronze at the recent Olympics, was clearly toasted by the crowds who showed up over the weekend.

With the result, Horishima now leapfrogs Julien Viel (CAN) in the Dual Moguls Cup standings, and how holds on to two yellow bibs going into the final stop of the season in Azerbaijan. 

For the women, the top four spots are held by the US team, with Kauf extending her lead to be 70 points ahead of Giaccio. 

The season finale takes place in Shahdag, Azerbaijan from 14-15 March.

QUICK LINKS

• Nanto-Toyama World Cup FIS data page (start lists, results, etc)

• Nanto-Toyama World Cup Stats Sheet

• Moguls Results: Women / Men

• Dual Moguls Results: Women / Men

• Moguls World Cup standings: Women / Men

• 2025/26 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup calendar