It's a maiden World Championships podium appearance for Maia Schwinghammer, and it could also be the ticket to something even bigger.
Schwinghammer locked up moguls bronze on Wednesday with a high-flying run in Engadin, Switzerland that led to 74.92 points. Only eventual gold medallist Perrine Laffont of France (77.92) and Japanese runner-up Hinako Tomitaka (75.15) managed to best her performance.
In reacting to this outcome, the Whistlerite let slip exciting news.
"Holy heck, I'm going to the Olympics," Schwinghammer wrote on Instagram. As Canada's lead female moguls athlete, she is positioned to try and continue the winning ways of past greats like Jennifer Heil and Justine Dufour-Lapointe when the 2026 Olympic Games kick off in Italy.
Meanwhile, Mikael Kingsbury's bid for a fourth straight world title was denied by the triumphant Ikuma Horishima, his longtime rival from Japan (89.03).
Kingsbury still managed to clinch silver (82.86), bringing his total World Championships medal count to four gold, two silver and two bronze. South Korea's Daeyoon Jung (81.76) was third.
Ultimately Schwinghammer held down the no. 3 spot in the ladies' World Cup overall ranking, while Kingsbury netted three Crystal Globes as the men's moguls, dual moguls and overall moguls champion.
Click here for more results from Engadin.
