Team USA will be finalizing rosters this weekend for the 2022 Winter Olympics to be held early next month at Beijing, China, and Butte skier Brad Wilson is among the strong contenders for a spot on the men’s moguls contingent. 

Wilson, 29, competed in both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics. His older brother, Bryon, earned the Bronze Medal in men’s moguls at the 2010 Winter Olympics and is now the moguls coach on the Team
USA freestyle skiing team. 

Mogulists returned to competition last weekend with a double meet in Tremblant, Quebec, after a two-week break from World Cup events for the holidays. Brad Wilson placed 30th on Friday and 25th in Saturday’s meet. 

Mikael Kingsbury of Canada, Walter Wallberg of Sweden and Ikuma Horishima of Japan swept the top three spots, in order as listed, both days. Wilson was sixth among Americans on Friday with Nick Page finishing the highest, placing seventh. Saturday’s race saw Wilson place 24th, third among United States mogulists. Page was fourth and Dylan Walczyk joined him in the top 10 with a seventh-place finish. 

Women’s races saw Amri Kawamura of Japan win on Friday, and Perrine Laffont of France prevail on Saturday. Kawamura was joined on the podium Friday by Laffont, in second place, and Tess Johnson of Team USA, third. Americans Elizabeth Lemley and Olivia Giaccio were fourth and sixth, respectively. 

The Saturday event saw Jakara Anthony of Australia be runner-up to Laffont with Kawamura placing third. United States skiers in the top 10 were Giaccio, fifth; Lemley, seventh, and Johnson, ninth. 

It was announced that two U.S. women, Jaelin Kauf and Hannah Soar, have been named by American Olympic officials to the Winter Games team in moguls. It has not been told how many spots on the Team USA Olympic freestyle skiing team will be filled by mogulists. 

Such decisions are to be made after this week’s World Cup moguls meet Thursday and Friday at Deer Valley resort near Park City, Utah, the home base for Team USA skiing. 

— Compiled by Bruce Sayler for buttesports.com from Team USA skiing report