GRAHAM READY TO SLAY GIANT IN GAMES MOGULS
AUSTRALIAN Matt Graham is adamant the greatest moguls skier can be beaten – it’s just that no one has regularly been able to do it.
Canadian Mikael Kingsbury has dominated the bumps like no other skier before him, winning six consecutive World Cup titles, 48 individual events and seven world championship medals.
In a judged sport, his strike rate has been phenomenal, to the point where he went through 13 World Cup meets over 2017-18 undefeated.
Yet there are a few rays of hope for the 23-year-old Australian who competes in today’s final.
Graham, who missed the super final by one spot in finishing seventh at Sochi, beat Kingsbury on home turf at Perisher in a non-World Cup event last year. He also edged the Canadian for World Cup gold in Calgary at the start of 2017.
And for all Kingsbury’s success since 2010, there’s no Olympic gold medal on his mantle piece – his breakthrough came after the Vancouver Games and he was second in Sochi.
“Mikael is an exceptional athlete. He is ultraconsistent and that’s what makes him so great. He is able to put runs down day in, day out that are really high quality,” Graham said.
“A bad run for him is second or third place, which not many people can say.
“But for us he is beatable. I know I can beat him and a bunch of other guys can beat him.”
Graham’s 2017-18 season has included three thirds and a second at World Cup level, suggesting a medal is definitely in reach on his day.