U.S. mogul skier Jaelin Kauf receives special Olympic gift as she tries again for a medal
ZHANGJIAKOU, China – Tucked somewhere underneath her ski jacket and layers to keep her warm, Jaelin Kauf wore two necklaces.
The silver one featured the Olympic rings, a gift from her mother four years ago when Kauf entered the Pyeongchang Olympics as a gold medal favorite. Then the World Cup leader, she would go on to finish seventh.
With that necklace was a gold one her mother, Patti Kauf-Melehes, sent in a care package for her to open before she competed in the Beijing Games on Thursday. It included five diamonds, ones passed down from her and Kauf’s late grandmother, and a pearl in the middle.
“She wrote this whole note, but basically, a pearl is made from grit and turned into something remarkable,” Kauf said.
It resonated with Kauf, who finished third in the first qualifier to advance to Sunday’s final. Teammates Olivia Giaccio and Hannah Soar finished fourth and seventh, respectively, to join Kauf.
The qualifier on Thursday, which came one day before the opening ceremony for these Winter Olympics, set half of the finals field. On Sunday, another qualifier will set the other half and be followed by three final rounds.
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Kauf will be back there for a second consecutive Olympics, this time with a different approach to reach the podium.
“My goal for this Olympics is to kind of leave it all out there every run,” she said. “The last Olympics, I was going in ranked number one. I had so much pressure on myself, mostly from myself, and just kind of expected a lot more but didn’t do everything I had to there.
“This time I have some familiarity with competing at the Olympics on this big of a stage and know that it’s not the pressure was all just put on by myself and doesn’t have to be there.”
That shift made final calls the morning of her competition relatively simple. Though Kauf-Meheles and Scott Kauf, Jaelin’s father, were both pro skiers, they didn’t try to impart some grand pearls of wisdom. After her experience four years ago, the veteran skier with a silver and gold chain around her neck has a pretty good idea what it will take to hang a medal there with them.
“They know the mind space that I’m in and know that they don’t have to give me any advice that’s life-changing,” she said of her parents’ advice. “I’m here for a reason, so enjoy it and do what I do.”