Mikaël Kingsbury has clinched the double title at the 2023 Freestyle World Ski Championships, further cementing his place as one of the greatest moguls athletes of all time. The three-time Olympic medallist won gold in singles moguls on Feb. 25 and repeated the feat one day later, defending his world championship title in men’s dual moguls in Georgia.
In doing so, he claimed the eighth world championship title of his illustrious career, and his fourth in the dual discipline. Kingsbury also won double titles at the last two World Championships, which were held at Deer Valley, Utah in 2019 and Almaty, Kazahkstan in 2021.
“It’s really crazy! Three world championship double titles in a row, and six gold medals in my last six events at the competition. I’m exhausted right now!” said Kingsbury in a press release shortly after his race.
The "King of Moguls" found himself pitted against Walter Wallberg of Sweden in the dual moguls final, the very man who bested him for Olympic gold last year in Beijing. Once again, they fought to the end.
Kingsbury was the first to cross the finish line, with a narrow lead of five one-hundredths of a second. Judges gave him the nod, 19-16 on the scorecards.
“There were a lot of good races today. I’m just really proud of myself! I dug deep and called up all the energy I had left. I gave everything I had against Walter,” explained the champion.
The bronze medal went to Matt Graham of Australia, who finished second in Saturday’s singles event just behind Kingsbury.
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The journey to the top of the podium was not easy, making the moment even more special for Kingsbury, who was already assured of winning two Crystal Globes this season before the World Championships began.
“It was an exhausting day, starting in the round of 32 against my teammate Elliot [Vaillancourt]. I felt like I needed sugar, and I was lacking energy. I wanted to build on that. Thank you to my entire team for the support.”
Kingsbury defeated his compatriot Vaillancourt, of Drummondville, Que. as well as Dylan Marcellini of Team USA, to begin his day. He then bested Benjamin Cavet of France and Pavel Kolmakov of Kazakhstan to advance to the final.
Gabriel Dufresne of Joliette, Que., placed fifth. He defeated Americam Cole Macdonald 20-15 and Rasmus Karjalainen of Finland 22-13. However, he lost his quarterfinal race to Kolmakov, 20-15.
Nonetheless, it is the best result of Dufresne's career.
Another Francophone, Julien Viel, did not complete his run in the round of sixteen and finished in sixteenth place. Vaillancourt ended up 20th.
Pemberton's own Brenden Kelly placed 31st in dual moguls after a 13th-place effort in singles. Kelly's career high came in the 2021 World Championships, where he raced to fourth.
In the women’s competition, Maia Schwinghammer of Saskatoon, Sask. fell in her quarterfinal against Jaelin Kauf of the United States. She finished the day in eighth place. Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert found herself in tenth, a personal best for the Québécoise skier.
Like Kingsbury, Perrine Laffont of France also won a second gold medal in as many days in Bakuriani. She is now the most successful female moguls racer in history, with five world championships.
Laffont defeated Kauf in the super final. Avital Carroll of Austria completed the podium.
The 2023 World Championships have concluded for moguls racers. The final World Cup event of the season will take place from March 17-20 in Almaty.
