Mikaël Kingsbury

Mikaël Kingsbury (born July 24, 1992) is a freestyle skier from Quebec. He 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 a ten-time FIS Freestyle World Cup title-holder for overall moguls and nine-time title-holder for 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 78, 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 (sweeping the two events three times), and has won the most medals at the Freestyle World Championships of any male competitor in history, having won a medal in 13 of the 14 events he has competed in. Kingsbury won the Olympic silver medal in 2014 and 2022, and, at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, he won the gold medal in men's moguls.[3]

Mikaël Kingsbury
Kingsbury in 2015
Born (1992-07-24) July 24, 1992
OccupationAlpine skier
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
World Cup debutJanuary 1, 2010
(age 17)
Olympics
Teams3 (20142022)
Medals3 (1 gold)
World Championships
Teams6 (20112021)
Medals11 (6 gold)
World Cup
Seasons14 – (20102023)
Wins78
Podiums113
Overall titles9 – (20122020)
Discipline titles10 – Moguls (20122020, 2022)
Medal record
International freestyle ski competitions
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 2 0
World Championships 8 3 2
Total 9 5 2
Men's freestyle skiing
Representing  Canada
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2018 PyeongchangMoguls
Silver medal – second place2014 SochiMoguls
Silver medal – second place2022 BeijingMoguls
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2013 VossMoguls
Gold medal – first place2015 KreischbergDual moguls
Gold medal – first place2019 Park CityMoguls
Gold medal – first place2019 Park CityDual moguls
Gold medal – first place2021 AlmatyMoguls
Gold medal – first place2021 AlmatyDual moguls
Gold medal – first place2023 BakurianiMoguls
Gold medal – first place2023 BakurianiDual moguls
Silver medal – second place2011 Deer ValleyDual moguls
Silver medal – second place2013 VossDual moguls
Silver medal – second place2015 KreischbergMoguls
Bronze medal – third place2011 Deer ValleyMoguls
Bronze medal – third place2017 Sierra NevadaMoguls

Career

Early success

After several seasons of competition in the Nor-Am Cup, Kingsbury enjoyed much greater success in 2010, winning four moguls and one dual moguls event before finishing the year on the World Cup circuit with two consecutive 4th-place finishes. He was named the 2009–10 FIS World Cup Rookie of the Year for these efforts.[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 five 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 and 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 his second FIS title in moguls and 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, but 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 three consecutive victories. However, Canadian teammate Bilodeau, who had finished 2nd in each of the first three races, experienced a resurgence and won the next three 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 three 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 season's final event, 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 faced off again 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 before 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 event 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 US. Kingsbury 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 the 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 nine 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 Pyeongchang 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]

Kingsbury missed the first three events of the shortened 2020-2021 World cup season after fracturing his T4 and T5 vertebrae while training for the opening World Cup event. He returned for the final two events, winning both. [27] He then won two world titles in 2 days in Kazakhstan.[28]

On January 24, 2022, Kingsbury was named to Canada's 2022 Olympic team.[29][30]

In 2023 he became the first four-time winner of the singles moguls world championship,[31] before repeating as dual moguls world champion for the 3rd straight time (four in total), making him an eight-time world champion.[32]

Results

Olympic results

Year Moguls
2014 Sochi2
2018 Pyeongchang1
2022 Beijing2

World Championship results

Date Location Discipline Event Result[33]
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
March 9, 2021 Almaty, Kazakhstan Dual Moguls 2021 Freestyle World Championships Gold
February 25, 2023 Bakuriani, Georgia Moguls 2023 Freestyle World Championships Gold
February 26, 2023 Bakuriani, Georgia Dual Moguls 2023 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)
2018-19 Moguls 9/9 1 7 8 825 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2019-20 Moguls 10/10 1 7 10 940 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2020-21 Moguls 2/5 1 2 2 200 6
2021-22 Moguls 12/12 1 9 11 1072 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)
2018–19 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 91.7 1st place, gold medalist(s)
2019–20 Overall N/A N/A N/A N/A 94.0 1st place, gold medalist(s)

[34]

World Cup victories

Kingsbury has achieved 78 victories in the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup.[33]

No. Date Location Discipline
1 December 21, 2010 Beida Lake, China Moguls
2 January 29, 2011 Calgary, Canada Moguls
3 December 10, 2011 Ruka, Finland Moguls
4 December 20, 2011 Meribel, France Dual Moguls
5 January 14, 2012 Mont Gabriel, Canada Dual Moguls
6 January 19, 2012 Lake Placid, United States Moguls
7 January 28, 2012 Calgary, Canada Moguls
8 February 2, 2012 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
9 February 12, 2012 Beida Lake, China Moguls
10 February 18, 2012 Naeba, Japan Moguls
11 December 15, 2012 Ruka, Finland Dual Moguls
12 January 17, 2013 Lake Placid, United States Moguls
13 January 26, 2013 Calgary, Canada Moguls
14 January 31, 2013 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
15 February 15, 2013 Sochi, Russia Moguls
16 February 23, 2013 Inawashiro, Japan Moguls
17 December 14, 2013 Ruka, Finland Moguls
18 January 4, 2014 Calgary, Canada Moguls
19 January 9, 2014 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
20 March 2, 2014 Inawashiro, Japan Dual Moguls
21 March 16, 2014 Voss, Norway Dual Moguls
22 January 3, 2015 Calgary, Canada Moguls
23 January 9, 2015 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
24 January 10, 2015 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls
25 January 29, 2015 Lake Placid, United States Moguls
26 February 7, 2015 Val St. Come, Quebec, Canada Moguls
27 February 28, 2015 Tazawako, Japan Moguls
28 March 1, 2015 Tazawako, Japan Dual Moguls
29 December 12, 2015 Ruka, Finland Dual Moguls
30 January 23, 2016 Val St. Come, Canada Moguls
31 January 30, 2016 Calgary, Canada Moguls
32 February 28, 2016 Tazawako, Japan Dual Moguls
33 March 5, 2016 Moscow, Russia Dual Moguls
34 December 10, 2016 Ruka, Finland Moguls
35 January 21, 2017 Val St. Come, Canada Moguls
36 February 2, 2017 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
37 February 4, 2017 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls
38 February 11, 2017 Phoenix Park Pyeongchang, South Korea Moguls
39 February 18, 2017 Tazawako, Japan Moguls
40 February 19, 2017 Tazawako, Japan Dual Moguls
41 February 25, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
42 February 26, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Dual Moguls
43 December 9, 2017 Ruka, Finland Moguls
44 December 21, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
45 December 22, 2017 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
46 January 6, 2018 Calgary, Canada Moguls
47 January 10, 2018 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
48 January 11, 2018 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
49 March 18, 2018 Megève, France Dual Moguls
50 December 7, 2018 Ruka, Finland Moguls
51 December 15, 2018 Thaiwoo, China Moguls
52 December 16, 2018 Thaiwoo, China Dual Moguls
53 January 12, 2019 Calgary, Canada Moguls
54 January 26, 2019 Mont Tremblant, Canada Moguls
55 February 23, 2019 Tazawako, Japan Moguls
56 February 24, 2019 Tazawako, Japan Dual Moguls
57 December 7, 2019 Ruka, Finland Moguls
58 December 15, 2019 Thaiwoo, China Dual Moguls
59 January 25, 2020 Mont Tremblant, Canada Moguls
60 February 1, 2020 Calgary, Canada Moguls
61 February 8, 2020 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls
62 February 22, 2020 Tazawako, Japan Moguls
63 March 7, 2020 Krasnoyarsk, Russia Dual Moguls
64 February 4, 2021 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
65 February 5, 2021 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls
66 December 4, 2021 Ruka, Finland Moguls
67 December 12, 2021 Idre, Sweden Dual Moguls
68 December 18, 2021 Alpe d'Huez, France Dual Moguls
69 January 7, 2022 Mont Tremblant, Canada Moguls
70 January 8, 2022 Mont Tremblant, Canada Moguls
71 January 13, 2022 Deer Valley, United States Moguls
72 March 12, 2022 Chiesa in Valmalenco, Italy Dual Moguls
73 March 18, 2022 Megève, France Moguls
74 March 19, 2022 Megève, France Dual Moguls
75 December 3, 2022 Ruka, Finland Moguls
76 December 11, 2022 Idre, Sweden Dual Moguls
77 January 27, 2023 Val St. Come, Canada Moguls
78 February 4, 2023 Deer Valley, United States Dual Moguls

References

  1. "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.
  9. "Canadians Kingsbury and Bilodeau finish 1–2 in World Cup moguls". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
  10. "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. "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. "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. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  21. "Megeve dual moguls caps off 2014/15 World Cup season". International Ski Federation. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  22. Callum Ng. "Canadian roundup: Moguls skiers win six medals at World Championships". Olympic.ca. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  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. "Canada's Kingsbury completes moguls sweep in Deer Valley". Sportsnet. February 5, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  28. "Kingsbury wins dual moguls race for 2nd world title in 2 days in Kazakhstan".
  29. Nichols, Paula (January 24, 2022). "Team Canada adds 24 freestyle skiers to the roster for Beijing 2022". www.olympic.ca/. Canadian Olympic Committee. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  30. Ewing, Lori (January 24, 2022). "Moguls star Kingsbury leads Canada's Beijing Olympic freestyle team". Canadian Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
  31. "'A perfect day': Kingsbury makes singles moguls history with 4th world title". CBC Sports. February 25, 2023. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  32. Hall, Vicki. "https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/freestyle-skiing/mikael-kingsbury-dual-moguls-gold-medal-world-championships-1.6761058". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. Retrieved February 26, 2023. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  33. "FIS Profile". International Ski Federation. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  34. "KINGSBURY Mikael - Athlete Information".
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