Mikaël Kingsbury captures World Cup moguls gold on home snow
30-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., claims 77th win on circuit
Canadian freestyle ski star Mikaël Kingsbury won moguls gold in front of a home crowd on Friday at the World Cup event at Val Saint-Côme, Que.
The three-time Olympic medallist from Deux-Montagnes, Que., claimed his 77th career World Cup win with 85.37 points, finishing ahead of Sweden's Walter Wallberg (81.69) and Japan's Ikuma Horishima (81.36).
"It's an amazing crowd. I missed it," Kingsbury said from the finish area. "Last time we competed in Canada it was during COVID and we had no one at the bottom. But to have everyone here tonight was awesome. I could hear them from the top of the course.
"I'm just happy with how I played out my game today. It's amazing to win at home. It's the best feeling."
WATCH | Kingsbury wins moguls gold before home crowd:
Elliot Vaillancourt (76.63) and Louis-David Chalifoux (76.52) also cracked the top 10, finishing ninth and 10th, respectively, while fellow Canadian Julien Viel was 12th with 75.65.
Kingsbury will be back in action Saturday for the men's dual moguls. Watch live coverage at 7 p.m. ET on CBCSports.ca, CBC Gem and CBC Sports app for iOS and Android.
Saskatoon's Maïa Schwinghammer was the top Canadian in the women's moguls, earning a career-best fifth-place finish with a score of 72.92.
Japan's Anri Kawamura took home gold with 82.25, while reigning Olympic champion Jakara Anthony of Australia claimed silver with 81.88. American Jaelin Kauf (78.34) rounded out the podium.
Canada's Berkley Brown (72.87), Jessica Linton (71.39) and Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert (69.68) also qualified for the final, finishing 13th, 14th and 16th, respectively.
