Mikaël Kingsbury

Mikaël Kingsbury
Alpine skier
FIS Moguls World Cup 2015 Finals - Megève - 20150315 - Mikael Kingsbury 8.jpg
Kingsbury at the 2015 FIS World Cup Finals in Megève
DisciplinesFreestyle skiing, Moguls
Born (1992-07-24) July 24, 1992 (age 28)
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
World Cup debutJanuary 1, 2010
(age 17)
Olympics
Teams2 (2014, 2018)
Medals2 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams6 (20112021)
Medals10 (5 gold)
World Cup
Seasons10 – (20102020)
Wins65
Podiums93
Overall titles9 – (20122020)
Discipline titles9 – Moguls (20122020)
Medal record
International freestyle ski competitions
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 0
World Championships 5 3 2
Total 6 4 2
Men's freestyle skiing
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2018 Pyeongchang Moguls
Silver medal – second place 2014 Sochi Moguls
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Voss Moguls
Gold medal – first place 2015 Kreischberg Dual moguls
Gold medal – first place 2019 Park City Moguls
Gold medal – first place 2019 Park City Dual moguls
Gold medal – first place 2021 Almaty Moguls
Gold medal – first place 2021 Almaty Dual moguls
Silver medal – second place 2011 Deer Valley Dual moguls
Silver medal – second place 2013 Voss Dual moguls
Silver medal – second place 2015 Kreischberg Moguls
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Deer Valley Moguls
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Sierra Nevada Moguls

Mikaël Kingsbury (born July 24, 1992) is a Canadian freestyle skier and is the most accomplished mogul skier of all time. He achieved eminence early in his career after earning the 2009–10 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year award. He is the seven-time reigning FIS Freestyle World Cup title-holder for both moguls and overall freestyle, owning the records for most men's Moguls World Cup titles and Overall Freestyle World Cup titles. He also owns the records for career World Cup moguls victories with 53, and consecutive Freestyle World Cup event wins with 13.[1][2] He is the first man to have won both the moguls and dual moguls World Championship events, and has won the most medals at the Freestyle World Championships of any male competitor in history, having won a medal in 9 of the 10 events he has competed in. Kingsbury won the Olympic silver medal in 2014, and, at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal as Olympic champion of men's moguls.[3]

Career

Early success

After several seasons of competition in the Nor-Am Cup, Kingsbury enjoyed much greater success in 2010, winning 4 moguls and 1 dual moguls event before finishing the year on the World Cup circuit with two consecutive 4th-place finishes. For these efforts, he was named the 2009–10 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year.[4]

Kingsbury earned his first World Cup podium in the first moguls event of his first full World Cup season, then followed this up with his first World Cup win on December 21, 2010.[5] With the victory, he became the first 18-year-old to win a FIS Freestyle World Cup event.[6]

Kingsbury continued his breakthrough season with one more World Cup event win and 5 additional medals, finishing the 2010–11 FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup season 4th overall and 3rd in the moguls discipline, behind countryman Alexandre Bilodeau and winner Guilbaut Colas. In the midst of this season, he competed in his first 2011 FIS World Championships, and began with a bronze medal in the moguls event behind Bilodeau and winner Colas.[7] In the dual moguls event, Kingsbury fell in the final pairing, again finishing behind Bilodeau, this time for the silver medal. Reflecting on his first World Championships, Kingsbury stated: "I never thought at the beginning of the season that I'd be able to be two times on the podium at Deer Valley, the hardest course in the world. Alex, since I was young was my example to follow, it's awesome to be in the final against him."[8]

First World Cup and World Championship titles

Kingsbury won six consecutive World Cup events to start the 2011–2012 season.[9] While the streak ended with a second-place finish in the next event, Kingsbury became only the second man to podium at every FIS freestyle competition in a season, with eight golds, four silvers, and a bronze. In doing so, he won his first FIS Freestyle Crystal Globe for moguls, as well as the overall Crystal Globe for all freestyle disciplines.[10] "I never thought I would've been able to do this at 19 years old," Kingsbury later remarked. "But this season I've skied great, I've been consistent every race and I think that was the key for me."[11]

To date, this remains his most successful World Cup season in terms of wins, podiums, and points, and his achievements during the season broke or matched several FIS records. Kingsbury's 90.77 overall points were the most achieved in a men's FIS Freestyle World Cup season since 2003. With 1180 of a maximum of 1300 points in moguls, he set a men's FIS Freestyle World Cup record for the most points in a season in an individual discipline. He became the youngest male mogul skier to win a Crystal Globe, and set a record for the most podiums in a season (13), in addition to matching the record held by American Jeremy Bloom for the most consecutive World Cup wins at six.[10]

Mikael added six victories in the 2012–13 season, in addition to one 2nd-place and two 3rd-place finishes for a total of 9 podiums in 12 events. His performance earned him both his second FIS title in moguls, as well as his second consecutive overall Crystal Globe.

At the 2013 FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, Kingsbury won his first World Championship title in the moguls event after he also qualified first; teammate Bilodeau placed second. This was the opportunity Kingsbury had been waiting his life for he said that "I have been waiting a while for this and dreaming about the day that I would earn the world championship title. I worked hard all summer to get to this day and I’m very happy. When I woke up this morning I was in a world championship mood. I felt perfect. My body was perfect, so I knew it could be today."[12] Kingsbury next competed in the dual moguls finals where he would find himself in the final matchup against teammate Bilodeau again. He again failed to beat him, this still left him as the silver medalist completing a second double medal World Championships.[13]

Surpassing Brassard

During the 2013–14 season, Mikael began the season with 3 consecutive victories. However, Canadian teammate Bilodeau, who had finished 2nd in each of the first three races, experienced a resurgence and won the next 3 world cup events to overtake Kingsbury in both FIS World Cup Moguls and overall standings.

At the Sochi Olympics, Kingsbury had a small stumble in his final run to finish with 24.71, finishing second to Bilodeau's 26.31, and collecting his first Olympic medal.[14] After winning his first Olympic medal Kingsbury said "I was going for gold, but just to be on the podium is crazy and I am with my teammate, it's just unbelievable."[14] Based on his World Cup results he was a gold medal favourite but Kingsbury was surpassed by Bilodeau who surprised again for gold.

Following the Olympic performance, Kingsbury finished 3rd, 1st, and 4th, respectively, in the next 3 events, while Bilodeau finished 4th, 9th, and 2nd, setting up an important dual moguls final between the two rivals in the second last event of the season, on March 16, 2014. At the age of 21, Kingsbury defeated Bilodeau in the final for his 21st career win, in the process moving him past childhood role-model Jean-Luc Brassard for most World Cup wins by a Canadian (during this same event, Bilodeau's silver medal tied Brassard for most World Cup medals by a Canadian).[15]

Entering the final event of the season, Kingsbury now led Bilodeau by 3 points for the Men's overall freestyle title, and by 31 points for the Men's mogul's title. In the final event, the two once again faced off in the dual moguls final. Bilodeau retired with a win over Kingsbury, stating that he was "really honoured to have [his] last run against the best in the world."[16] Kingsbury added another silver medal, and ultimately edged Bilodeau by 1 point for the overall freestyle title and 11 points for the Men's mogul title; at 890 points and 879 points respectively, Kingsbury and Bilodeau finished the season with double the points of third overall Patrick Deneen.[17]

World Cup records

The FIS had suggested prior to the start of the 2014–15 season that "with Bilodeau now out of the picture, the story of the... season will be whether somebody, anybody, will be able to challenge Mikael Kingsbury's claim to moguls supremacy."[18] Kingsbury answered this question with what the Canadian Freestyle Association considered to be "arguably one of the most prolific and impressive seasons in freestyle history,"[19] punctuated by a 19–16 victory over teammate Philippe Marquis in the dual moguls finals of the 8th event of the World Cup season in Tazawako, Japan. In doing so, Kingsbury won his record 7th straight FIS World Cup moguls event after starting the season with a disappointing 9th-place finish, breaking the previous record of six consecutive wins that he had shared with Jeremy Bloom.[19] This win was also the 28th FIS Freestyle Skiing World Cup victory of Kingsbury's young career, tying him with Frenchman Edgar Grospiron for first on the all-time list. At age 22, Kingsbury reached the milestone in 60 World Cup events compared to Grospiron's 78.[19]

By this point Kingsbury had already clinched his 4th straight moguls season title after winning the moguls ev"ent in Tazawako the day prior. Unfortunately, in the final event of the season, he suffered an uncharacteristic crash in his quarter final heat and finished 8th.[20] Despite falling short, his performance helped Canada claim the moguls Nations Cup and the FIS Freestyle overall Nations cup, the latter in an incredibly tight battle finishing only 54 points ahead of the USA. Kingbsury also finished the day with the moguls and Freestyle overall crystal globes for the fourth straight season.[21]

In the midst of his successful World Cup season, Kingsbury won his first World Championship title in the dual moguls event, over Canadian teammates Philippe Marquis and Marc-Antoine Gagnon. This was the first time a country has swept the podium in the history of the dual moguls event at World Championships. He was unable to defend his gold in the moguls event, finishing second to Anthony Benna after finishing first in qualification and leading into Final 2.[22] His 2nd place showing still ensured that his streak of six consecutive podium finishes at the World Championships would continue.

Kingsbury had to wait nearly 9 months for another opportunity to set the men's record for World Cup moguls skiing victories. He made good on this chance at the 2015–16 season-opening dual moguls event in Finland, by defeating Benjamin Cavet of France 20–15 in the finals, en route to claiming the moguls and Freestyle overall crystal globes for the fifth straight season.[1] During the 2016–17 season, Kingsbury became the first skier to sweep the single and dual moguls competitions in Deer Valley for a second time. In the dual moguls, he beat his opponents by a combined score of 144–31 to earn his 58th men's World Cup podium, surpassing Edgar Grospiron for most all-time while extending his all-time record for wins to 37.[23]

In January 2018, Kingsbury set a new record for the most World Cup wins, surpassing Hannah Kearney of the US at 47. The next month, Kingsbury won his elusive Olympic gold medal in Pyongchang with a score of 86.63.[24] On December 11, Kingsbury was rewarded for his record-setting season when he was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy, honouring Canada's top athlete of the year.[25] This was followed by The Canadian Press' male athlete of the year Lionel Conacher Award on December 27; in both cases he was the first freestyle skier to win the award.[26]

In March 2021, Kingsbury wins two world titles in 2 days in Kazakhstan.[27]

Results

Olympic results

Year Moguls
2014 Sochi 2
2018 Pyeongchang 1

World Championship results

Date Location Discipline Event Result[28]
February 2, 2011 Deer Valley, Utah, United States Moguls 2011 Freestyle World Championships Bronze
February 5, 2011 Deer Valley, Utah, United States Dual Moguls 2011 Freestyle World Championships Silver
March 6, 2013 Voss-Myrdalen, Norway Moguls 2013 Freestyle World Championships Gold
March 8, 2013 Voss-Myrdalen, Norway Dual Moguls 2013 Freestyle World Championships Silver
January 18, 2015 Kreischberg, Austria Moguls 2015 Freestyle World Championships Silver
January 19, 2015 Kreischberg, Austria Dual Moguls 2015 Freestyle World Championships Gold
March 8, 2017 Sierra Nevada, Spain Moguls 2017 Freestyle World Championships Bronze
March 9, 2017 Sierra Nevada, Spain Dual Moguls 2017 Freestyle World Championships 13th
February 8, 2019 Deer Valley, Utah, United States Moguls 2019 Freestyle World Championships Gold
February 8, 2019 Deer Valley, Utah, United States Dual Moguls 2019 Freestyle World Championships Gold
March 8, 2021 Almaty, Kazakhstan Moguls 2021 Freestyle World Championships Gold

World Cup results

Tournament Discipline Events Started Best Finish Wins Podiums Points Final Position
2009–10 Moguls 5/10 4 0 0 116 22
2010–11 Moguls 11/11 1 2 8 725 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2011–12 Moguls 13/13 1 8 13 1180 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2012–13 Moguls 12/12 1 6 9 940 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2013–14 Moguls 11/11 1 5 9 890 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2014–15 Moguls 9/9 1 7 7 761 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2015–16 Moguls 8/8 1 5 7 705 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2016–17 Moguls 11/11 1 9 10 1020 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2017–18 Moguls 10/10 1 7 10 940 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2009–10 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 11.6 64
2010–11 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 65.9 4
2011–12 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 90.8 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2012–13 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 78.3 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2013–14 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 80.9 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2014–15 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 84.6 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2015–16 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 88.1 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2016–17 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 92.7 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2017–18 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 94.0 1st place, gold medalist(s)

World Cup victories

Kingsbury has achieved 65 victories in the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup.[28]

Date Location Discipline
December 21, 2010 Beida Lake, China Moguls
January 29, 2011 Calgary, Canada Moguls
December 10, 2011 Ruka, Finland Moguls
December 20, 2011 Meribel, France Dual Moguls
January 14, 2012 Mont Gabriel, Canada Dual Moguls
January 19, 2012 Lake Placid, United States Moguls
January 28, 2012 Calgary, Canada Moguls
February 2, 2012 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
February 12, 2012 Beida Lake, China Moguls
February 18, 2012 Naeba, Japan Moguls
December 15, 2012 Ruka, Finland Dual Moguls
January 17, 2013 Lake Placid, United States Moguls
January 26, 2013 Calgary, Canada Moguls
January 31, 2013 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
February 15, 2013 Sochi, Russia Moguls
February 23, 2013 Inawashiro, Japan Moguls
December 14, 2013 Ruka, Finland Moguls
January 4, 2014 Calgary, Canada Moguls
January 9, 2014 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
March 2, 2014 Inawashiro, Japan Dual Moguls
March 16, 2014 Voss, Norway Dual Moguls
January 3, 2015 Calgary, Canada Moguls
January 9, 2015 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
January 10, 2015 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls
January 29, 2015 Lake Placid, United States Moguls
February 7, 2015 Val St. Come, Quebec, Canada Moguls
February 28, 2015 Tazawako, Japan Moguls
March 1, 2015 Tazawako, Japan Dual Moguls
December 12, 2015 Ruka, Finland Dual Moguls
January 23, 2016 Val St. Come, Canada Moguls
January 30, 2016 Calgary, Canada Moguls
February 28, 2016 Tazawako, Japan Dual Moguls
March 5, 2016 Moscow, Russia Dual Moguls
December 10, 2016 Ruka, Finland Moguls
January 21, 2017 Val St. Come, Canada Moguls
February 2, 2017 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
February 4, 2017 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls
February 11, 2017 Phoenix Park Pyeongchang, South Korea Moguls
February 18, 2017 Tazawako, Japan Moguls
February 19, 2017 Tazawako, Japan Dual Moguls
February 25, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
February 26, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Dual Moguls
December 9, 2017 Ruka, Finland Moguls
December 21, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
December 22, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
January 6, 2018 Calgary, Canada Moguls
January 10, 2018 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
January 11, 2018 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
March 18, 2018 Megève, France Dual Moguls
December 7, 2018 Ruka, Finland Moguls
December 15, 2018 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
December 16, 2018 Thaiwoo, China Dual Moguls
January 12, 2019 Calgary, Canada Moguls
December 7, 2019 Ruka, Finland Moguls
December 15, 2019 Thaiwoo, China Dual Moguls
February 4, 2021 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
February 5, 2021 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls

References

  1. ^ a b "Mikael Kingsbury moves into top spot on World Cup moguls wins list". CBC Sports. December 12, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
  2. ^ "Mikael Kingsbury ties all-time moguls World Cup wins mark". CBC Sports. March 1, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  3. ^ "Canada's Mikael Kingsbury wins Olympic gold in men's moguls". Toronto Star. February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  4. ^ "Mikaël Kingsbury". Freestyle Skiing Canada. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
  5. ^ "Kingsbury leads 4-medal charge by Canadian freestyle team". CBC Sports. December 21, 2010. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  6. ^ "2010: the year of "First timers"". FIS Freestyle World Cup. December 21, 2010. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  7. ^ "Retiring Heil wins moguls world title". CBC Sports. February 2, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  8. ^ Terry Bell (February 6, 2011). "Night races bring four more medals". The Gazette (Montreal). Retrieved June 2, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Canadians Kingsbury and Bilodeau finish 1–2 in World Cup moguls". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Canada takes four medals at mogul finals". Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. March 18, 2012.
  11. ^ "Canada's Kingsbury ends dual moguls season with silver". CBC Sports. March 18, 2012.
  12. ^ "Canada's Kingsbury wins moguls world title, Bilodeau 2nd". CBC Sports. March 6, 2013.
  13. ^ "Canada's Bilodeau, Dufour-Lapointe win dual moguls world championships". CBC Sports. March 8, 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Canada's Alex Bilodeau wins moguls gold, teammate Mikael Kingsbury takes silver". CBC Sports. February 10, 2014. Archived from the original on March 18, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  15. ^ "Kingsbury breaks Canadian record for World Cup mogul wins". The Sports Network. The Canadian Press. March 16, 2014.
  16. ^ "Mikael Kingsbury wins moguls title, Alex Bilodeau retires with win". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. March 21, 2014.
  17. ^ "Cup Standings". International Ski Federation. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  18. ^ "Mikael Kingsbury". International Ski Federation. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c "Kingsbury ties all-time FIS World Cup mogul wins record". The Canadian Freestyle Ski Association. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  20. ^ "Mikael Kingsbury wins 4th straight moguls season title". The Canadian Press. Missing or empty |url=
  21. ^ "Megeve dual moguls caps off 2014/15 World Cup season". International Ski Federation. Missing or empty |url=
  22. ^ Callum Ng. "Canadian roundup: Moguls skiers win six medals at World Championships". Olympic.ca. Missing or empty |url=
  23. ^ "Cox and Kingsbury reign supreme in Deer Valley duals". FIS. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  24. ^ "Flawless freestyler Kingsbury wins gold in men's moguls". International Olympic Committee. February 15, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  25. ^ "Mogul king Mikael Kingsbury adds Lou Marsh Trophy to crowded awards shelf". CBC Sports. December 11, 2018. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  26. ^ "Mikael Kingsbury keeps adding hardware, named CP male athlete of the year". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. December 27, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  27. ^ "Kingsbury wins dual moguls race for 2nd world title in 2 days in Kazakhstan".
  28. ^ a b "FIS Profile". International Ski Federation. Retrieved December 22, 2014.

External links


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