ZHANGJIAKOU, China (Reuters) – American freestyle moguls skier Jaelin Kauf vowed on Wednesday to “deliver the love” during the Beijing Olympics as the athlete and her teammates prepare to kick off the Winter Games.
Kauf, 25, comes from a family of pro skiers, with both her mother and father former mogul tour champions.
The American was favoured for gold during the 2018 Pyeongchang Games but finished seventh that time.
“That motto ‘deliver the love’ is just my reminder to always have fun with it, that’s why I do it, its not about the medals or the results or all that, which is easy to get caught up in,” Kauf said during a news conference with her teammates.
Her teammates praised the moguls course, remarking on the extremely cold temperatures in Zhangjiakou. Temperatures in the mountains were due to drop to as low as -16 Celsius (3.2 Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
Other American freestyle skiers said they too were excited to be among the first athletes to open the Beijing Games with their qualification events scheduled for Thursday.
Nick Page, 19, another moguls skier, said he expected high viewership for their final competition, which is scheduled a day after the official opening of the Games.
“It is special to be at the beginning of the Olympics … We can definitely showcase some of what we’re just excited to get out there to show people to a big audience, which is special,” Page said.
(Reporting by Mari Saito and Winni Zhou; Editing by Robert Birsel)
