Australia's Jakara Anthony wins 1st Olympic title in women's dual moguls

Jakara Anthony of Australia won the gold medal in the women's freestyle skiing dual moguls at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on ‌Saturday, redeeming herself after a disappointing loss in the single-format moguls.

Jaelin Kauf took silver for the U.S. and the bronze went to American Elizabeth ​Lemley in the northern Italian town ​of Livigno.

Dual moguls is a new sport at the Olympics, pitting skiers together in a ​head-to-head elimination format in which two competitors race ⁠side-by-side through parallel ⁠bump fields. Speed counts, ‌but so do turns and aerial maneuvers.

Anthony crossed the finish line a fraction of a second before Kauf but had to wait for the judges' final ⁠assessment. She smiled and   pumped her arms in the air when she saw she had earned a score of 20, compared to ‌Kauf's 15. A throng of Australian supporters cheered and waved yellow inflated kangaroos on the side of the mountain.

At the medal ceremony, Anthony broke into a wide smile ​as she celebrated becoming the first Australian to win two Winter Olympics ⁠gold medals.

Three of the four Canadians in the dual moguls event won their 1/16 matchups before losing in the 1/8 finals.

Saskatoon's Maïa Schwinghammer beat France's Marie Duaux 21-14 before losing to France's Perrine Laffont in 1/8 final by the same score.

Vancouver's Jessica Linton beat Ayaulym Amrenova of Kazakhstan 21-14 in the 1/16, but then matched up against Anthony in the 1/8. The Canadian lost that run by a score of 27-8.

Ashley Koehler, of Lac-Beauport, Que., defeated China;'s Li Ruilin 35-0, but lost the 1/8 final matchup 25-10 to Lemley.

Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert, of Sainte-Adèle, Que., lost her 1/16 final to American Tess Johnson 22-13.