BOYNE CITY — There’s still one thing Kaila Kuhn is trying to figure out with her newly acquired Olympic gold medal.
How does she keep it clean and scuff free when transporting it around?
“I haven’t really figured out what to do with it yet,” Kuhn said. “I’ve been carrying it around in a sock so it doesn’t get all dinged up.”
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Well, that’s one solution to a problem many would love to have.
The Boyne City native certainly doesn’t have any issues with losing sight of it.
“It hasn’t really left my side yet,” she said with a big smile. “I’m pretty attached to it.”
On Wednesday, March 18 in the Boyne City High School, the Boyne City community, teachers and students from each school in town got to lay eyes on Kuhn’s gold as well, as they celebrated her 2026 Winter Olympic gold medal in mixed team aerials.
Boyne City’s Kaila Kuhn greets students as she’s introduced during the gold medal celebration held at Boyne City High School on Wednesday, March 18.
Kuhn was greeted into the Boyne City gym by roars from the crowd, as she raced down rows of young students waving American flags, handing out high-fives along the way.
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It was a greeting that only a small town could provide an Olympic legend and one Kuhn is so grateful for.
“I have gotten such an overwhelming amount of love and support here,” Kuhn said. “It’s just absolutely incredible. There’s no better way to come home from the Olympics than to come home to this town.”
Gold medal win: Boyne City’s Kaila Kuhn wins gold for USA in mixed aerials skiing
Kuhn’s return home has included a celebration at Boyne Mountain, where she began her skiing career, along with a parade through downtown.
She was welcomed with signs in businesses and signs and screams from the crowd Wednesday. She also received one big surprise from Boyne City council members on stage, as she was presented with the key to the city.
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“Just when I think Boyne City has gone above and beyond to support me, they take it a step further,” she said. “Whether it’s Boyne Mountain or the school or just the town in general. I drove through town and saw my face in every window going through Main Street.”
Kaila Kuhn takes questions from members of the media in the Boyne City Rambler Room ahead of the event on Wednesday, March 18.
It’s the kind of welcome you would expect from a close-knit community like Boyne City. Kuhn was born and raised just a northern Michigan kid before her dreams grew and she chased them out West.
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Now 22, Kuhn might still be out West, but Boyne City will always be home.
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“This is definitely home, through and through,” Kuhn said. “My family still lives here in my childhood home, our dogs are here, so this is definitely my decompression space. I look forward to coming back here several times a year. This is my place, for sure.”
Kaila Kuhn and Dave Bricker share a moment before she’s introduced on stage to a packed Boyne City High School gym.
Kaila Kuhn, now 22, has always been a great athlete and showed it all around Boyne City.
She grew up through Boyne Area Gymnastics, developing and honing her flexibility and movement that would one day deliver gold.
“I was at Boyne Area Gymnastics five days a week,” she said. “Whether it was open gym or practice, I was always there.”
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She preformed well in track and field as well and still holds the middle school high jump record to this day.
Those middle school years were right around when the dreams really began to take off, too.
She left Boyne City to further pursue skiing in eighth grade, though she stuck with her classroom work online, always wanting to end as a Rambler.
“Boyne City allowed me to do so I could come back and walk with my class, which I always dreamt of doing,” she said. “I was able to come back my senior year and graduate with my class, even though it was during COVID.”
Olympic dreams take off
The graduation from Boyne City came just before Kuhn competed in her first Olympics, qualifying as a young 18-year-old for the 2022 Winter Olympics in China, barely thinking about taking the podium.
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“I was just so excited to call myself an Olympian,” Kuhn said. “To be able to walk away from that Olympics and get an Olympic rings tattoo and call myself an Olympian.”
Things changed the second time around. Kuhn wasn’t just heading to the 2026 games wide-eyed and fresh to the team. She was going with expectations.
Rightfully so, too.
She was coming off a 2025 year that brought her a world championship title on U.S. soil and as one of the favorites for a medal.
“I came into this Olympics with an entirely different approach,” she said. “I was expecting a lot out of myself.”
Boyne City native and Olympic gold medalist Kaila Kuhn takes questions on stage and does an interview with Boyne City’s Andy Bryant (right), who hosted the event on stage in the Boyne City High School gym Wednesday, March 18.
Individual competition went strong once again for Kuhn, which even came with the highest score she’s achieved yet in competition with a 109.9 and third place in the first stage of finals.
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When the group was trimmed from 12 to six, Kuhn scored well again, though placed fifth overall.
But, she knew there was another chance at a medal through team competition.
“It just lit a fire under my butt,” Kuhn said. “I think the team event is a totally different atmosphere than it is in the individual events. Coming into that competition, we all wanted to do well and we knew we had the potential to go win that event.”
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She paired up with Chris Lillis and Connor Curran and won gold in the team competition. And, taking that podium was a feeling she can’t even describe.
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“It’s something I’ve dreamed of my whole life, no matter if I was doing gymnastics or basketball or soccer, I always wanted to be on that Olympic podium,” Kuhn said. “I finally have this around my neck. I still don’t think I’ve really registered it, just because it’s not really a feeling I can describe to any of you. It’s an overwhelming sense of pride, not only for myself, but representing this town and my country.”
Much more ahead
By the time the next Winter Olympics rolls around in the French Alps in 2030, Kuhn will still be young in the sport at just 26.
That means chasing after another Olympics trip will begin for Kuhn, but looking at another four years of waiting just after achieving a major dream can be overwhelming.
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“I’m taking it one year at a time, one day at a time and doing it as long as it’s fun for me,” Kuhn said. “I definitely plan on sticking around, but it’s absolutely daunting. It would be nice if the Olympics were every two years.”
Kaila Kuhn waves to the crowd after the ceremony ends in the Boyne City High School gym on Wednesday, March 18.
For now, that means getting back to training soon for more world competitions and likely back to the pool to perfect her skills, which also acts as a great source of cardio training.
“It’s totally normal ski boots, so our boots are full of water,” she said. “We’re wearing wetsuits and life jackets and it’s about 150 stairs to the top every time, so it’s a good workout for your hip-flexer with heavy boots.”
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She’s currently enrolled at the University of Utah, taking classes at a slow pace – which includes taking the current semester off to attend the Olympics – something that’s been great for her as she pursues a business degree.
“I’ve gotten to take some in-person classes for the first time since seventh grade, which is pretty cool,” Kuhn said with a laugh.
There will be trips back to Boyne City periodically, returning back to a place that’ll always be home and where so many welcome her with open arms.
The journey is far from over for Kuhn and she’ll never forget where that journey began.
“I really feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg and I have a lot more work to do in the sport,” Kuhn added. “I’m definitely not done yet.”
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Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne City gold medalist Kaila Kuhn gets huge celebratory welcome home
