VALMALENCO, ITALY — Canadian Mikael Kingsbury won gold Saturday at a World Cup men's dual moguls freestyle ski event.
The native of Deux-Montagnes, Que., was competing for the first time since claiming an Olympic silver medal at the Beijing Games. Kingsbury capped his day with a gold-medal victory over Japan's Ikuma Horishima.
However, Horishima fell on his first jump as Kingsbury went on to capture his 72nd career victory.
"It feels great to win today, especially after the Olympics and the break that followed," the Canadian said. "This is not my favourite type of course, especially with the smaller bumps, but I managed to do well and I'm very happy."
With the win, Kingsbury remains atop the overall moguls standings with 872 points. Horishima is second, 92 points behind. Kingsbury is attempting to win a 10th straight Crystal Globe as overall leader.
Gabriel Dufresne of Joliette, Que., Elliot Vaillancourt of Drummondville, Que., Alexandre Lavoie of Lac-Beauport, Que., Brenden Kelly of Pemberton, B.C., and Jordan Kober of Penticton, B.C. were all eliminated in the round of 32.
In the women's event, Saskatoon's Maia Schwinghammer defeated Sofiane Gagnon of Whistler, B.C., in the first elimination round before being beaten by eventual gold-medal winner Jakara Anthony of Australia. Valerie Gilbert of Sainte-Adele, Que., was 14th while Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert of Sainte-Adele and Berkley Brown of Aurora, Ont., were 17th and 20th, respectively.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2022.
The Canadian Press
