2025/26 Season Review Part III: The next generation steps forward in Airolo

With summer slowly wrapping up and another winter beginning to appear on the horizon, it is time for the third and final chapter of our look back at the 2025/26 season.

Part I revisited the biggest stories from the World Cup campaign, before Part II took us back to the Olympic Games and the battle for the biggest prizes of the season. For Part III, the focus shifts towards the future.

The 2026 FIS Freestyle Junior World Championships in Airolo, Switzerland, brought together some of the world's best young Moguls and Aerials athletes for four days of competition and, as always, offered an early look at some of the names we could soon be seeing much more of on the World Cup stage.

From a golden week for Sweden's new generation of moguls skiers to Kazakhstan's continued rise in aerials, Ukrainian team success and another display of depth from the United States, Airolo provided plenty of reasons to be excited about what comes next.

Sweden's golden generation arrives

No nation left Airolo with more momentum than Sweden.

The championships opened with a historic sweep of the individual Moguls titles as Nova Nilsson and Elis Moberg claimed gold. For Nilsson, the victory made her the first Swedish woman ever to win a Junior World title in Moguls, while Moberg's triumph completed a remarkable comeback after two injury-plagued seasons.

And that was only the beginning.

Nilsson and Moberg teamed up to win Mixed Dual Moguls Team gold before Noel Gravenfors added the men's Dual Moguls title on the final day of competition.

By the time the championships concluded, Sweden had collected four of the five Moguls gold medals available, narrowly missing a clean sweep when Canada's Flavie Lamontagne edged Olivia Hedberg in the women's Dual Moguls final.

Gravenfors' victory also added another chapter to a growing family story. Three years after his older brother Filip won a junior world double, Noel followed in his footsteps to become a Junior World Champion himself.

With several of those names already beginning to push towards the senior level, Sweden's performance in Airolo offered a clear indication that there could be plenty more to come.

USA's depth remains on display

While Sweden dominated the gold medal count, the United States once again demonstrated the depth that has made it one of the strongest Moguls nations in the world.

Abby McLarnon claimed silver in women's Moguls, while Porter Huff and Camden Lewis joined Moberg on the men's podium. The United States also reached the final of the Mixed Dual Moguls Team competition and secured bronze in the Mixed Aerials Team event.

Beyond the medals, American athletes were a constant presence throughout the finals and leading positions across the week.

That strength mirrors what we have seen at senior level in recent seasons, where a steady stream of young athletes has continued to break through onto the World Cup stage. Judging by the performances in Airolo, there are already more waiting behind them.

Kazakhstan continues its aerials rise

Kazakhstan's emergence as an aerials nation continued in Airolo.

For the second consecutive year, a Kazakh athlete captured the men's Junior World title, with Assylkhan Assan delivering when it mattered most to take gold.

The 16-year-old recovered from a difficult start to qualification before producing his best jumps with the medals on the line. His victory followed teammate Dinmukhammed Raimkulov's historic triumph one year earlier and provided another sign of the progress being made by Kazakhstan's aerials program.

In the women's competition, Liubou Pilipenka claimed gold with an impressive display of consistency and quality, finishing ahead of Canada's Alexandra Montminy and Ukraine's Diana Yablonska.

Team events showcase international depth

The mixed team competitions once again provided another opportunity for the next generation to perform under pressure.

In Mixed Aerials Team, Ukraine rose to the occasion to secure gold ahead of Canada and the United States. Roman Bondarchuk, Diana Yablonska and Mykyta Tarhonskyi combined for three strong performances in the final to take the title.

Over in Moguls, Sweden's remarkable championship continued in the Mixed Dual Moguls Team competition.

Nilsson and Moberg proved too strong in the final against USA 1, adding another gold medal to Sweden's collection and further underlining just how impressive the Swedish team had been throughout the week.

A glimpse at what's coming next

Junior World Championships have always been about more than the medals handed out at the end of the week.

They are a chance to see the athletes who could become the World Cup winners, World Champions and Olympic medallists of the future.

And the path from Junior Worlds to the very top can be remarkably short.

The 2026 edition introduced plenty of names worth remembering. Nova Nilsson, Elis Moberg, Noel Gravenfors and Assylkhan Assan were among those leaving Airolo with gold medals, while the performances of athletes from the United States, Canada, Ukraine, Japan and beyond demonstrated just how much young talent is currently coming through the two disciplines.

Some will need more time before making the jump to the senior level. Others may be challenging the established names sooner than expected.

That is ultimately what makes the Junior World Championships such an important final chapter of our 2025/26 Season Review.

Part I looked at the athletes who ruled the World Cup. Part II celebrated those who delivered on the Olympic stage. And Part III gives us a glimpse at who might be next.

With a new season approaching and a new Olympic cycle about to begin, the next generation is already on its way.