LIVIGNO – A skiing journey that began famously being towed behind a snowmobile as a child on Christopher Lake in Saskatchewan, took Maia Schwinghammer to a fifth-place finish in the moguls at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old from Saskatoon earned a score of 77.61, just 0.39 off the podium.
“I know I have more to give, so it’s a little bittersweet, being points-wise so close to the podium,” said Schwinghammer. “I knew I made a couple of mistakes in my run. So there’s that. It’s always tough when you know you can do better. But fifth at the Olympic Games … I’m so proud of the way I was able to handle the nerves.”
American Elizabeth Lemley won the gold with a storming run, awarded a score of 82.30 at Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park. Australia’s Jakara Anthony, the last competitor, had a chance to catch her and become the first woman to defend an Olympic moguls title, but lost an edge and skied off the top of the course, finishing eighth at 60.81.
American Jaelin Kauf won silver for the second games in a row with a score of 80.77, ahead of France’s Perrine Laffont, the 2018 champion in Pyeongchang at 78.00.
Japan’s Hinako Tomitaka also scored 78.00 but lost the bronze to Laffont on the turns score tiebreaker and finished fourth.
Schwinghammer learned to ski at Mount Blackstrap, a modest ski hill just south of Saskatoon, then managed by her parents that offered just 45 metres of elevation, one chairlift and one T-bar.
That’s where she fell in love with the sport.
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Reminded of such humble beginnings Wednesday, Schwinghammer smiled.
“The little girl in me is screaming,” she said.
Her father, Rick, a former freestyle skier himself, was a freestyle ski official at the 2010 Games in Vancouver, and an eight-year-old Maia got to watch the moguls.
“Jennifer Heil was always a huge inspiration to me … I remember watching her get the silver medal and just knowing that I had to go become an Olympian one day,” she recalled in a media availability before the games.
That eventually led to a spot in the national team in 2018 at age 16. Heil, meanwhile, is the Canadian chef de mission in Milan Cortina.
Rick Schwinghammer went viral during the games as a proud dad for a tearful on-the street interview.
Canadian moguls coach Michel Hamelin said both he and Schwinghammer were surprised that the Canadian’s score wasn’t higher. He pointed to the top of the course, where skiers go off the first jump into a long stretch of moguls.
“If you do that super-smooth, it creates magic, and everyone is like ‘Whoa, OK, that’s amazing. And she actually landed and did a little slide. You see some snow, and that’s one thing the judges don’t like,” he explained.
“I think it’s around that that we lost a little bit and it cost us the (podium).”
In contrast, Lemley’s run was a blockbuster.
“One of the most beautiful moguls skiing runs I’ve seen to this date in this sport,” said Schwinghammer.
“She destroyed the course,” added Hamelin.
Schwinghammer, who just missed out on making the Beijing Olympics, enjoyed a banner 2024-25 season.
She was a bronze medallist at the 2025 FIS World Championships and finished third in the FIS World Cup moguls standings and fourth in the combined moguls/dual moguls standings. She earned three World Cup moguls podiums, including her first career World Cup win at Val St-Côme, Que., in January 2025.
But this season has proved to be more challenging with Schwinghammer citing injuries and a lack of confidence.
“I have to say this week has been the most fun I’ve had all year skiing. I can’t wait to bring that energy into dual (moguls), to take some confidence from today,” she said.
Dual moguls, which sees athletes compete head-to-head on parallel courses in a bracket-style format, makes its Olympic debut Saturday.
Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert of Sainte-Adele, Que., finished 12th while Ashley Koehler of Lac-Beauport, Que., was 16th and Vancouver’s Jessica Linton 19th.
All four Canadian women were making their Olympic debut.
The Olympic moguls format is slightly different from that of World Cups.
The top 10 from the first qualifying round progress directly to the final round at the games. The rest get a second chance via a second round of qualifying, with 10 more advancing. The top eight competitors after the final then go after the medals in the super-final.
On Thursday, Canadian moguls star Mikael Kingsbury looks to make history by becoming the first to win medals in the same freestyle skiing event at four straight Olympics.
The 33-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., who already has a gold medal from 2018 and a pair of silver medals from 2014 and 2022, qualified third Tuesday behind teammate Julien Viel and Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, who topped the 30-man field.
Elliot Vaillancourt of Drummondville, Que., was 16th in the first round of qualifying and will look to join his teammates in the second round of qualifying Thursday before the final.
In moguls, competitors race down a steep, heavily mogulled course featuring two jumps. Each run is judged on three elements: technical turns (worth 60 per cent), aerial manoeuvres (20 per cent) and speed (20 per cent).
Canada has won 11 moguls medals at the Olympics (six gold and five silver).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026