By Lisa Richwine
LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Jakara Anthony of Australia won the gold medal in the women's freestyle skiing dual moguls at the 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 manoeuvres.
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.
Anthony had been the favourite to win the singles but wobbled out of line in her second run to finish eighth. In the single moguls, riders tackle the course solo and the highest score wins.
Heavy snow fell throughout the dual moguls finals, hindering visibility for the skiers.
Italian Manuela Passaretta, aiming to impress an enthusiastic home crowd, made an early exit after skiing out of bounds near the start in the first round.
(Editing by Ken Ferris and Ed Osmond)
