Bronze a ski-snapping disappointment
‘I’M VERY COMPETITIVE’: Everyone expects Kingsbury to grab gold — including the moguls master himself
Mikael Kingsbury channelled his inner John Morris — the dean of broom breaking in curling — on Wednesday after settling for bronze at the world moguls championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain.
Upon crossing the finish line, Kingsbury, the most decorated mogul skier in history, snapped a ski in two pieces in disgust.
“I was just mad,” Kingsbury told reporters in a conference call. “It was just getting the frustration out. I’m not very proud when I do these kinds of things, but I guess I’m very competitive.”
Virtually everyone, including the man himself, expects Kingsbury to top the podium at every event given his routine dominance on the World Cup circuit. Turns out he’s human after all. “I pushed to win,” the 24-year-old Quebec native said. “I’m proud of the way I skied in qualifications and the final. Still, I won the last seven World Cups, and I felt I was ready for the world championships.”
Moguls is judged based on time and execution of two jumps. In uncharacteristic fashion, Kingsbury landed too deep on the bottom air in the super final to ruin his chances at a world title.
Japan’s Ikuma Hiroshima won the event with 88.54 points. Benjamin Cavet of France was second with 87.11. Kingsbury scored 82.85.
“It’s a fun position to be in, and then it’s a tough position to be in sometimes,” Kingsbury said of his role as the favourite. “I like the pressure, but there is pressure when people are expecting you to win all the time.
“If I’m not winning, sometimes I feel like people think I had a bad race.”
Bronze is not bad. It’s just not Kingsbury’s signature colour of gold.
“I’m not too worried about Mik, to be honest,” said Dominick Gauthier, an Olympic analyst for Radio-Canada. “It’s something he’s going to be really pissed about. He’ll come back strong.
“I don’t think Mik should have it on his shoulders to have to win every single event and world championships. He will finish second. He will finish third. The guy is not perfect.”
On the women’s side, reigning Olympic champion Justine DufourLapointe of Montreal won bronze with 80.74 points. Her sister Chloe, also a medal contender, and rising star Andi Naude of Penticton failed to qualify for the super final.
“Of course, I’m a little bit disappointed with my results,” Justine said. “I wanted to win.”
Australia’s Britteny Cox won gold with 83.63 points. Perrine Laffont of France was second at 82.51.
“I think this as a bit of a kick in the butt for the whole Canadian team,” Gauthier said. “The only one I wouldn’t put in there is Mik — he doesn’t need to question everything he does.
“The girls, they need to have a little moment of reflection.”
Another chance for medals awaits on Thursday in dual moguls, a format that is not yet included on the Olympic menu.