Top Aerialists Compete in World Cup Event Ahead of 2026 Olympic Winter Games

Media Credential Requests | Tickets on Sale

The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (Olympic Authority) announces that tickets are now on sale for the Stifel Lake Placid Freestyle Cup, the fourth stop on the Azerbaijan FIS Freestyle World Cup aerials tour. The event returns to the Olympic Jumping Complex on January 11-12, giving the world’s best aerialists a critical opportunity to secure spots in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games and offering fans a preview of what’s to come a few weeks later in Italy.

The two-day World Cup in Lake Placid features men’s and women’s individual competitions on Sunday, followed by a mixed team event on Monday. Freestyle aerials is one of the most electrifying spectator sports on snow, with athletes dropping in from a steep slope before launching high into the air off single, double or triple kicker jumps to execute twists, turns and flips before landing in an outrun area lined with cheering fans. Points are awarded for height, level of difficulty, technique and landing. Excitement builds as the field narrows throughout the day, leaving a final group of six athletes to battle for podium spots and coveted points in the overall World Cup standings.

The Stifel U.S. Freestyle Ski Team enters the 2025-2026 season riding high after a standout performance at last season’s FIS World Championships in Switzerland. Kaila Kuhn, a 2022 Olympian from Michigan, captured two world titles, winning the women’s individual event and then joining Quinn Dehlinger and Rochester, N.Y. native Chris Lillis to secure the mixed team gold, marking the first time any nation has claimed back-to-back world championships in the event. Dehlinger, from Ohio, also earned a silver medal in the men’s individual competition, finishing just behind Switzerland’s Noé Roth.

Stifel Lake Placid Freestyle Cup

January 11-12, 2026 | Olympic Jumping Complex | Lake Placid, N.Y.

WHAT

The world’s top freestyle aerialists return to Lake Placid for the Stifel Lake Placid Freestyle Cup — one of the final World Cup events before the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. The competition includes men’s and women’s individual events on Sunday, followed by the mixed team event on Monday.

The Stifel Lake Placid Freestyle Cup is the only World Cup aerials stop of the season on the East Coast and the first U.S. stop of the 2025-26 Azerbaijan FIS Freestyle World Cup tour.

WHEN

Sunday, January 11 – Individual Events

8:45 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Monday, January 12 – Mixed Team Event

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHERE

Olympic Jumping Complex

5486 Cascade Rd, Lake Placid, NY 12946

ATHLETES TO WATCH

Stifel U.S. Freestyle Aerials Team

    • Kaila Kuhn (MI) – 2025 World Champion (individual & mixed team); transitioned from doubles to triples
    • Quinn Dehlinger (OH) – Two-time Mixed Team World Champion (2023, 2025)
    • Chris Lillis (NY) – 2022 Olympic gold medalist (mixed team); Two-time World Champion (2023, 2025); Youngest man ever to win an FIS Aerials World Cup at 17 years old
    • Karenna Elliott (OH) – Top U.S. woman in overall World Cup standings last season

Additional U.S. athletes:

Justin Shoenefeld, Winter Vinecki, Dani Loeb, Kyra Dossa, Tasia Tanner, Derek Krueger, Ashton Salwan, Connor Curran, Ian Schoenwald

Top international contenders:

    • Laura Peel (AUS) – 2025 Crystal Globe winner; three-time Olympian; two-time world champion; triple-twisting triple specialist
    • Qi Guangpu (CHN) – Olympic champion; 2025 men’s Crystal Globe winner; two-time world champion
    • Noé Roth (SUI) – Olympian with three world championships gold medals, including 2025 individual title
    • Jiaxu Sun (CHN) & Mengtao Xu (CHN) – World Cup individual winners in Lake Placid last season

BACKGROUND

The 2025-26 Azerbaijan FIS Freestyle World Cup season opens in Ruka, Finland, before aerialists travel through Europe and Asia en route to North America. Lake Placid hosts the first U.S. stop, ahead of Deer Valley, Utah (Jan. 16-18), which serves as the final World Cup before athletes are named to the 2026 Olympic Team.

Freestyle Aerials has been a Winter Olympic discipline since the 1994 Lillehammer Games, captivating audiences with its high-flying flips and twists. Athletes are judged on air, form, and landing precision. Lake Placid’s Olympic Jumping Complex has hosted FIS Aerials World Cups and other major freestyle skiing events since the 1980s. During Lake Placid’s run of FIS Freestyle World Cups between 1985 and 2019, the aerials competition would take place at the Olympic Jumping Complex with the moguls at Whiteface Mountain on consecutive days.

Media Contact: Morgan Ryan, [email protected]