Mikaël Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, Que., gained a measure of revenge against Walter Wallberg, upending the 2022 Olympic moguls champion to win Saturday’s dual event in World Cup action in Valmalenco, Italy.
It was the first race for Kingsbury since capturing a moguls silver medal at the Winter Games in Beijing last month to become the first male freestyle skier to earn three Olympic medals.
The 2018 Olympic gold medallist amassed 82.18 points in his Feb. 5 performance in China, trailing Wallberg of Sweden, who scored 83.23 at Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou, China, for his first major win on the senior circuit
The 29-year-old Kingsbury was attempting to become the second men’s moguls skier to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals after fellow Canadian Alex Bilodeau achieved the feat in 2010 and 2014.
WATCH | Kingsbury picks up moguls silver medal at Beijing Olympics:
Canadian Mikael Kingsbury was poised to repeat as Olympic moguls champion, but Sweden’s Walter Wallberg took gold with the final run. 5:08
Kingsbury’s win Saturday was his fifth of the season and 72nd on the World Cup circuit in 102 competitions. He is attempting to win a 10th straight Crystal Globe as overall season winner.
Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, Kingsbury’s friend who won Olympic bronze last month, was second on Saturday following a crash after landing his first jump in the final.
WATCH | Kingsbury has insatiable appetite for winning:
Watch Mikaël Kingsbury take CBC Sports behind the scenes, showing his 18 Crystal Globe trophies. 1:25
Canada’s Moffatt awarded slopestyle silver in France
Elsewhere on Saturday, Max Moffatt of Caledon, Ont., won a slopestyle silver medal in unusual circumstances in Tignes, France.
Due to high winds, the event organizers were forced to cancel the final and the 23-year-old clinched his second silver medal of the season with a strong qualifying run.
“Unfortunately, there was a lot of wind today and it wasn’t safe to ski. This wasn’t really the way I had hoped to win a medal this weekend, but it is what it is,” Moffatt, who earned 87.25 points in Thursday’s qualifier, told Freestyle Canada.
“Everyone would have preferred to ski, but the health and safety of the athletes was the top priority, so it was the right decision.”
Norway’s Birk Ruud won the competition with a qualifying score of 88.50 points, while Sweden’s Jesper Tjader placed third (86.00).
Four other Canadians competed, led by Bruce Oldham of Parry Sound, Ont., who placed 16th. Calgary’s Mark Hendrickson (18th), Quebec City’s Dylan Deschamps (36th) and Philippe Langevin of Mont-Tremblant, Que. (41st) were the others, while Evan McEachran of Oakville, Ont., did not compete.
The women’s final on Saturday and Friday’s qualifiers were cancelled, meaning Megan Oldham (Parry Sound) and Olivia Asselin (Lévis, Que.) also didn’t compete.
The final World Cup event of the slopestyle season is slated for March 24-26 in Silvaplana, Switzerland.
“It’s always nice to end the season in Switzerland. The course and the jumps are spectacular,” Moffatt said. “The stakes will be high.”
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