Fear, Flips, and Full-Full-Fulls with Kaila Kuhn

Living life in threes is paying off for freestyle skier Kaila Kuhn.

"All of the men in the world are competing triples. Whereas a maximum [of] eight to 10 women on the Olympic year are actually competing [in] triples," Kuhn said.

"Triples" refers to the complexity of an aerial skier's jump. It's an elite-level move, and Kuhn successfully performed a full-full-full to win a recent World Cup event. The full-full-full involves three flips with 360-degree twists.

Kuhn admits that "it's dangerous. It's scary. And there's a reason why not many of us do it."

Triples are a standard maneuver for male aerial skiers. But Kuhn predicts only eight to 10 women at the Olympics will attempt one. She sees triples as key to winning gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.

Kuhn was the youngest American to win an individual world title in aerials at the age of 21.

She finished eighth in her Olympic debut at the 2022 Games. She transitioned from doubles to triples following her first Olympics. Perfecting triples puts her in line for gold in Milan at the age of 22.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Harnessing fear. The role fear plays in preventing injuries and creating an edge
• How Kuhn mastered triples. How she perfected a complex move in water before trying it on snow
• The two stars of American aerial skiing are a real-life couple. How they've supported each other in this Olympic journey
• And read anything good lately? It's Olympic book club time. Why Kuhn is Team USA's go-to for a book recommendation

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