Moguls skiers lock in final Olympic prep at Waterville
Jan 15, 2026·Freestyle
As the Moguls World Cup shifts to Waterville Valley, expect New Hampshire’s White Mountains to serve as the backdrop for the final dress rehearsal of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
The 15-16 January event, coming less than a week after Val St. Côme days ago, was picked to replace Deer Valley after weather conditions proved challenging in Utah. But while it is a late candidate, Waterville is certainly no stranger to World Cup competition.
Apart from being widely regarded as one of the places in the United States where freestyle skiing was born, it has also been a regular host of World Cup events over the years – including a Moguls stop last season.
So its hills will still be fresh on skiers’ minds as they compete for World Cup honours and Olympic momentum.
Dual Moguls will arguably be a focus for many in Waterville. It will feature for the first time at the Olympic Games come February, yet there would only have been two World Cup stops this season before that for athletes to find form.
Julien Viel (CAN) won the season’s opening contest at Val St. Côme, earning a first World Cup win on home snow as he beat reigning Moguls world champion Ikuma Horishima (JPN) to the victory.
Despite coming in second, it is clear that Horishima is riding fit and in form. He began the season with a victory and a runner-up finish at the Ruka stop. Apart from missing the Moguls small final at the Val St. Côme event last week, the 28-year-old has made every podium he contested since the Deer Valley stop in February last year.
On the women’s side, Jaelin Kauf (USA) is undeniably the one to watch when it comes to Dual Moguls. The consistent speedster took a triple crown last season and also won the first Dual Moguls contest last week in Canada.
Kauf is part of a trio of US skiers who have been some of the most consistent women so far this season. Tess Johnson (USA), Olivia Giaccio (USA) and Kauf occupy the second to fourth spots on the Cup standings, and were part of a top-four sweep for the US team in Dual Moguls last week.
But it is Jakara Anthony (AUS) who is sitting top after two Moguls wins out of as many stops, proving her comeback from a lengthy injury has been nothing short of successful.
Still, the reigning Olympic champion admitted that when it comes to Dual Moguls, there are cobwebs that she needs to dust away. Before her sixth-place finish at Val St. Côme last week, the last time Anthony contested Dual Moguls at a World Cup was nearly two years ago, at Chiesa in Valmalenco in March 2024.
In Waterville Valley, Moguls will begin in 15 January with women’s qualifications at 08:45 local time, then the men’s qualifications at 11:40. Finals will begin from 14:30.
The next day, Dual Moguls will begin with preliminary rounds at 09:40, before finals at 13:00.
WATCH LIVE
TV broadcasts will be available for fans to follow the action live, while there will also be live streaming on FIS TV.
Here are the links and information about geo-restrictions –
Thursday, 15 January
Friday, 16 January
Please note that due to broadcasting rights restrictions, live streaming availability may be limited in certain regions.
However, the livestream for the finals is accessible in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore, and South Korea. For the qualifications, the livestream is available globally, with the exception of geo-restrictions in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
QUICK LINKS
Waterville Valley World Cup FIS data page (start lists, results, etc)
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