Q&A MIKAEL KINGSBURY
QYou’ve won everything except an Olympic title. How do you feel about that heading into Pyeongchang?
AIt’s important for me. It keeps me very motivated every day, but I’m not going into Pyeongchang only thinking about the gold medal. I want to think about myself and being able to ski the run of my life. My ultimate goal in Pyeongchang is to cross the line and scream because I’ve done everything I could.
QYou’ve been so successful in your sport that anything short of gold almost looks like a miss, which is kind of crazy, at least from the outside. How much pressure do you put on yourself to win?
AI kind of create my own pressure because people expect me to win every time. Now when I finish second or third it’s like, “Oh, Mikael didn’t have a good day.” But it’s very tough just to make top 10 in the World Cup, so I just put the standard very high. But I enjoy that pressure.
QThere’s been a long history of success in moguls in Canada, from Jean-Luc Brassard to Alex Bilodeau to yourself. Why?
AFor me and for the others, we always have somebody to look up to. Jean-Luc looked up to someone before him, and then you go in the Olympics and Alex could look up to Jean-Luc and I could look up to Alex. There’s always been a legend or a very good model in Canada. It’s just the tradition that keeps on going.
QWith all the success that you’ve had, what’s the one thing you’re most proud of ?
AI think it’s everything. I have 12 crystal globes at home, I’ve won 42 World Cups, I have 63 podium finishes. I’m way farther than I thought I would ever get. ... I’m proud of every single one. And I’m excited for the future.