Moguls champion Kingsbury hides nerves but not talent
Mikael Kingsbury kept trying to convince himself the Olympics were just another event, that his legacy as one of the greatest moguls skiers ever didn’t necessarily rely on his performance in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
ThentheCanadianwokeupMondaywith jitters in his stomach — the kind that don’t go away, not even for a six-time world champion.
“I’ve never been nervous like that in my life,” said Kingsbury, 25. “It was crazy.”
Four years ago, a slight wobble in the finals allowed good friend Alex Bilodeau to slip by him for the gold. While Kingsbury didn’t see the silver medal he earned in Sochi as a disappointment, stressing he was “just a kid” in 2014, he arrived in South Korea as a heavy favorite.
“He’s hands down one of the greatest persons to grace the sport,” said American Casey Andringa, who finished fifth. “For him not to winagoldmedal, I would’ve been sad.”
Baltimore-born luger Summer Britcher set a track record at 46.132 seconds in her second run Monday. After hitting the wall in Heat 1, Britcher, who comesfromafamilyofBaltimorefirefighters, is in ninth place with two runs left to decide the medals today.
“That was pretty satisfying,” Britcher said of her record run. “I don’t think I would have been so happy if I’d hadagoodfirst run. But it is hard to come back from a bad run, especially at an Olympics.”
Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger had the lead after the first two runs of the women’s singles event, putting her in prime position to win a second straight Olympic title.
In the first doping case of the Pyeongchang Olympics, Japanese short-track speedskater Kei Saito tested positive for adiuretic that canmasktheuseof other banned substances.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Saito “accepted on a voluntary basis to be provisionally suspended and to leave the Olympic Village.”
Saito did not race before the test result, from a pre-competition sample, was confirmed.
Ireen Wust won her fifth Olympic gold medal, taking the 1,500meter speedskating race.
The Dutchwoman also set the record for most Olympic medals in her sport, as her 10th surpassed the standard set by Claudia Pechstein of Germany.
Brittany Bowe of the U.S. finished fifth. Baltimore-born luger Summer Britcher celebrates after her second run Monday, which set a track record.
World No. 1 Martin Fourcade rebounded from a disappointing eighth-place finish in the biathlon sprint to hit 19 of 20 targets in the pursuit and claim his third Olympic gold. The Frenchman has won six Olympic medals.
Fourcade’s victory came after Laura Dahlmeier gave Germany its third straight gold medal in the biathlon in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit.