WYOMING — On Wednesday, March 12, in Livigno, Italy, Stifel U.S. Ski Team athlete and Alta local Jaelin Kauf won all three International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) Freestyle Crystal Globes for the first time in U.S. history.
Kauf’s overall World Cup win qualifies her for the 2026 Olympics and the FIS Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland from March 17 to 30.
Patti Kauf, Jaelin’s mom, shared with Buckrail that the Crystal Globes are awards given by the FIS to the top ranked athletes in each ski discipline throughout the World Cup season. She said that her daughter swept the overall, moguls and dual moguls Crystal Globes last week. The FIS said in a statement that Kauf is the first American to win all three and first to win any globe since Hannah Kearney in 2015.
“It’s kind of like winning the Super Bowl at the end of the NFL season,” Patti Kauf told Buckrail.
According to the U.S. Ski Team, Kauf “came through in the clutch” during the Crystal Globes competition.
“As the last skier in the super final, the American needed to execute to hold off French Olympic champion Perrine Laffont, who posted a 77.07,” the U.S. Ski Team wrote in a press release. “Kauf’s aggressive mentality led to an 81.21 score, which safely secured the win and the overall titles.”
Kauf told the U.S. Ski Team that she was trying to “attack the whole way and not leave anything out there” during her individual crystal globes win.
“I feel like the emotions are getting the better of me,” Kauf told the FIS. “This was such a fun day, I’m stoked to have my dad, my mom, my stepdad here. This is incredible.”
Over the course of the season, Kauf achieved a total of eight wins, completing her 14th podium of the season and 50th of her career. In anticipation of the World Championships this week, Kauf’s mom told Buckrail that her family and friends will be cheering her on.
“Only the top 25 skiers in the world are selected to compete in the World Championships,” Patti Kauf said. “World Championships are every two years and they are like a mini Olympics.”
