Mikael Kingsbury "very proud" to claim third Olympic medal

Mikael Kingsbury believes that winning silver at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games is one of his greatest achievements.

The Canadian freestyle skiing star was a whisker away from retaining his moguls title in Genting Snow Park, taking the lead with the penultimate run of the competition.

But Sweden’s Walter Wallberg then stepped up to snatch the gold medal.

That Kingsbury was even competing in China was a seismic victory. It was only in December 2020 that he broke his back in a training accident.

“It was not easy,” the 29-year-old told Olympics.com after the victory ceremony about his journey to this Games. “When you know you broke your back and you're watching these guys compete on TV. It's not ideal.

“But I was motivated last year. I wanted to come back for the World Championships, and I knew the Olympics were coming very fast and I worked very hard and now I feel like my back is stronger than it was before I broke it.

“So yeah, it's quite special to have been able to come back after such an injury. When I was injured, I thought, maybe that was the end of me performing at a high level, but I just kept going and being better."

Despite finishing second this time, as he did at Sochi 2014, Kingsbury remains the moguls GOAT.

His nine moguls World Cup and overall Freestyle Skiing World cup titles are both records, and he was the first man to win both moguls and dual moguls crowns at the World Championships.

It speaks volumes that, even after suffering such a significant injury, he was still the favourite to win Olympic gold on a freezing cold night at Genting Snow Park.

“I'm really proud of myself, the way I dealt with all the pressure,” he continued. “We're in a sport where it's performance on demand and unlike other sports, where athletes can compete in many events at the Games, for us, it's once every four years.”

“I'm very proud to be the first guy to win three consecutive moguls Olympic medals. I'm very satisfied.”

Norway's Kari Traa won women's moguls medals at three consecutive Games - bronze at Nagano 1998, gold at Salt Lake 2002, and silver at Torino 2006.

Traa and Kingsbury are the only freestyle skiers to have won three Winter Olympic medals since freestyle skiing was added to the medal programme at Albertville 1992.

Allied to his obvious skill and athleticism, what makes Kingsbury truly great is his ability to perform at the highest level consistently over such a long period of time in a sport where there are no second chances.

“When I won my first Olympic gold medal in 2018, it was quite special. This is my third Olympics and this is my third medal. So yes, it's just extremely special to have been able to put down such a good run at the Olympic Games."