LIVIGNO, Italy, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Australia's defending Olympic champion Jakara Anthony and 2018 winner Perrine Laffont of France made the Olympic freestyle skiing moguls final on Tuesday, leaving 2022 silver medallist Jaelin Kauf having to battle in the second qualifying round.
Despite losing most of the season with a collarbone injury, Anthony blended technique, speed and turns to reach top spot in the first round, which she described as clean and "pretty tidy".
Laffont came fourth, combining great jumps with amazing rhythm around the moguls - closely spaced mounds of snow. She showed fine control on the short, steep run overlooking the valley of high-altitude town Livigno, under soft snowfall.
"It wasn't easy, I did some mistakes, so that means that I can fix my run and do better," said the Frenchwoman, adding that she aimed to go faster in the finals.
Her fans cheered loudly, holding giant posters with the face of the skier and her initial 'P' in the three colours of the French flag.
U.S. freestyle skiers Elizabeth Lemley and Olivia Giaccio shook things up by taking second and third place, both less than one point away from Jakara's top score of 81.65.
Known for her speed, teammate Kauf came in a lowly 27th after losing control of her skis right after the first jump.
"Tomorrow I will have to put in a run through," she said. "Obviously, I tried to do that today and it did not work out but I will try to focus on skiing the best run I can."
At the top of the run, Sweden's Elis Lundholm, 23, one of the transgender athletes competing at the Milano Cortina Games, lost her fall line, the straightest way down the bumpy mogul piste, ending up second-last among the 30 contenders.
Both skiers will compete in the second round on Wednesday, where the top 10 will also advance to the finals being held later that day.
In the men's qualifiers, Japan's Ikuma Horishima led the way. Canada's Mikael Kingsbury - three-times Olympic medallist and most decorated mogul skier ever - and Sweden's defending champion Walter Wallberg were third and sixth respectively.
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in Livigno; Editing by Ken Ferris)
