Canada’s Kingsbury wins moguls gold to top three medal day for Canada

Mikael Kingsbury (Photo by Clément Bucco-Lechat/Wikipedia)

TAZAWAKO, Japan – Mikael Kingsbury captured his 32nd FIS World Cup title Sunday, winning the dual moguls event on a three-medal day for Canada.

The 23-year-old freestyle skier from Deux-Montagnes, Que., defeated American Thomas Rowley 20-15, while Benjamin Caven of France won the bronze.

The victory capped an impressive weekend for Kingsbury, who was second in Saturday’s single moguls event.

“I’m thrilled to be back on top of a World Cup,” Kingsbury said. “There were a few challenges with the course and I had to beat some really good competitors along the way. I really wanted to win (Saturday) and I didn’t, so I was extra motivated.”

“My confidence kept going up after each dual. I’m happy with the way I dealt with things and that I’ve basically locked up the Crystal Globe (the overall title).”

Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal were back on the podium, finishing second and third respectively in the women’s dual moguls. Robichaud lost to Deborah Sanzio of Switzerland, 19-16 in the final. Dufour-Lapointe edged out Kazakhstan’s Yulia Galysheva 20-15 for third.

“I had a really great day to day to make it to the podium. My training went really well entering the competition and I was consistent all day,” said Robichaud. “I was skiing really well in all my dual matches. The final was a real battle… Making it to the podium twice this weekend is special. I couldn’t be happier.”

Dufour-Lapointe and Robichaud were second and third respectively in Saturday’s single moguls.

“I really pushed myself today and am proud of my performance,” Dufour-Lapointe said. “It was a really nice day out there with great snow conditions. I think that helped us out a lot.”

“I also gained the yellow bib jersey as the overall leader of the World Cup,” she added. “That’s a huge accomplishment since I have been fighting a cold all weekend. I had to push through it. I’m proud of myself.”

Quebec City’s Philippe Marquis and Laurent Dumais were seventh and ninth respectively men’s dual moguls.

Alex-Anne Gagnon of Terrebonne was sixth in women’s dual moguls, while Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal was ninth and Andi Naude of Penticton, B.C., was 12th.