It was the start many expected in China from Mikaël Kingsbury.
The reigning Olympic moguls champion led the opening round of qualifying with 81.15 points on Thursday and moved directly to the first of three men’s finals on Saturday with nine others at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou.
The 29-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., made it look easy on a cold and breezy evening, displaying great control on his 24.71-second run featuring a big cork 720 trick and strong landing.
“It’s a good feeling,” Kingsbury, also the reigning world champion, told CBC Sports. “I can do my jumps better [with the cork 1080]. I’ve skied that course a good second-and-a-half faster than I just did.
“The goal is not to win today. It’s great that I’m leading right now, but today is just to take as much information [into the] next round. I just look forward for a good day of rest, sit down with my mental trainer, my coaches and make the best plan for Saturday.”
WATCH | Dominant Kingsbury clinches berth in Olympic moguls final:
Mikael Kingsbury started strong at Beijing 2022 with a score of 81.15 in the moguls competition. 1:57
Laurent Dumais, Kingsbury’s training partner from Quebec City, was 24th of 28 finishers and will need to finish among the top 10 of 20 skiers in the second qualificaton round on Saturday to advance to the final in his Olympic debut.
Walter Wallberg of Sweden placed second at 79.12, ahead of Frenchman Benjamin Cavet at 78.40.
Earlier Thursday, Justine Dufour-Lapointe moved closer in her quest to win a third consecutive Olympic medal while sister Chloé made freestyle skiing history.
Justine secured the 10th and final automatic qualifying spot for Sunday’s first of three finals, topping the Canadian women’s contingent with a score of 71.45.
Chloé just missed advancing directly to the final, placing 11th with 70.31 points while becoming the first Canadian woman to compete in freestyle skiing at four Winter Games. Sofiane Gagnon of Whistler, B.C., was 14th of 25 finishers (68.47) and will join her teammate on Sunday in battling for the remaining 10 spots for the first final.
Australia’s Jakara Anthony led the opening round of women’s qualifying with a score of 83.75, followed by defending Olympic gold medallist Perrine Laffont of France with 81.11. American Jaelin Kauf rounded out the top three with 79.15 points.
WATCH | Justine Dufour-Lapointe top Canadian in women’s moguls qualifying:
.jpg?crop=1.777xh:h;*,*&downsize=510px:*510w)
Montreal’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe, 2014 Olympic champion and 2018 Olympic silver medallist, finishes tenth in women’s moguls qualification 1 with a score of 71.45. Chloe Dufour-Lapointe and Sofiane Gagnon will have another opportunity to advance in qualification 2. 1:35
Justine, the two-time Olympic medallist, sported a wide grin and blew kisses to her Canadian fans back home after her run. Those who called the race were a little surprised at a lower-than-expected score for the 27-year-old and wondered if the judges saw a couple of bobbles in her performance.
Justine, who won Olympic gold in 2014 and silver four years later, was in complete control in the middle part of her run before delivering a cork 720 trick.
Chloe, 30, was the first to ski of the Canadian trio and had her knees driving up and down in control through the moguls with the song You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) by former English pop band Dead or Alive blaring over the sound system in the background.
The 2014 silver medallist was a little out of control at the bottom of her 28.85-second run and earned 15.49 points for her time, 11.32 on air and 43.5 from a panel of judges on her turns.
The 22-year-old Gagnon showcased a single backflip in the tuck position she executed perfectly before losing a bit of control near the end of her run.
“There were a few mistakes but I’m super proud of my skiing,” she told The Canadian Press. “These last four days of training were pretty tough. This course isn’t easy, so I’m so glad that I could block out the distractions of the Games and just focus on my skiing.”
Some notable athletes missed Thursday’s competition:
- Yuliya Galysheva from Kazakhstan, who won bronze at the 2018 Games, did not appear at the starting line.
- American Kai Owens, who fell during a practice session earlier this week, also did not participate in the day’s qualifiers.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
