Mikaël Kingsbury concluded the Bakuriani World Cup duels with a gold medal around his neck. It was in the Georgian theater where he was crowned double world champion last year that the king of moguls added an eighth medal to his season on Saturday, marking the 84e victory of his career in the World Cup.
“I probably had my best run of the weekend in terms of my technique, which was impeccable. I watched the video earlier and it was the best skiing I’ve done in my life,” Kingsbury said.
The long-awaited grand final pitted him against Japanese Ikuma Horishima after victories against Japanese Yutaro Murata, Australian Cooper Woods and Swede Filip Gravenfors.
“In the final, I knew it was going to go quickly. We made the fastest descents. Both made small mistakes in the middle, but I had a better landing at the bottom. He went for time and we shared a few points here and there, but I’m really happy that it was on my side,” underlined the Quebec worker, referring to his duel against Horishima.
In this last event which concluded his stay in Georgia, the worker from Deux-Montagnes won the duel with a score of 20-15 over the Japanese who had won the gold medal in singles the day before. Kingsbury earned bronze.
American Nick Page, silver medalist on Friday, completed the podium after getting the better of Filip Gravenfors.
Thanks to this victory, Mikaël Kingsbury increased his lead in the general classification of the discipline. He is ahead of the Swede Rasmus Stegfeldt by 60 points.
“I’m really happy to have picked up my 84e World Cup victory and my 122e podium,” added the man who now has as many starts as one of his first teammates, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau, with 142 World Cup appearances.
At the end of his next appearance, Kingsbury will therefore become the Canadian skier with the most starts on the circuit, in mogul skiing.
To be able to still be so dominant after 142 starts, I’m really satisfied. I know I’m probably in the best physical shape I’ve ever been in right now. Mikaël Kingsbury
He was not the only competitor to represent La Belle Province on Saturday on the track in Bakouriani.
His teammates, Julien Viel (9e), Gabriel Dufresne (11e) and Elliot Vaillancourt (13e) were stopped in the round of 16, while Louis-David Chalifoux ranked 17e.
Canadian workers are now entitled to a well-deserved rest for the holiday season. They will return to action at home on January 19 and 20 at the World Cup in Val Saint-Côme.