Mikael Kingsbury shows class in reaching Beijing 2022 moguls final
Defending Olympic champion tops qualifying in men's moguls on opening day of freestyle skiing at Genting Snow Park.
Freestyle Skiing
Mikael Kingsbury of Canada began his Beijing 2022 Olympic freestyle skiing campaign in style with the top score in qualifying to book an automatic spot in the men's moguls final.
The PyeongChang 2018 gold medallist was flawless, finishing with a score of 81.15 at the Genting Snow Park in the Zhangjiakou zone on Thursday (3 February).
That said, the renowned perfectionist feels that there are plenty of areas he can improve on.
_"_Great run, difficult conditions, very cold," Kingsbury told Olympics.com afterwards "I did the job that I wanted, I didn't try to do too much. I just did exactly what I needed to do for qualification.
"I know I'm capable of better skiing and jumping a bit better, but for right now, I'm satisfied and I get a good day off tomorrow to to chat with my coaches and come up with a plan to come from stronger for Saturday."
He will defend his title in the final on Saturday (5th February) at 19:30 China Standard Time (CST).
That Kingsbury is even at these Games is an achievement in itself after he broke his back in 2020.
_"_It's been a tough year and a half," he continued. "And even though we're all wearing masks, it's awesome to be competing.
"I've been dreaming going to the Olympics since I was a kid and just to be here as it's so amazing, it's a huge accomplishment just to be able to ski on the Olympic course and to do well is the icing on the cake.
_"_I'm just very satisfied with my skiing and the progression that I made to the Olympics. And now I feel ready to compete and to perform. And I think the results show today."
Jakara Anthony lays down early marker
In the women's event, Sochi 2014 gold medallist Justine Dufour-Lapointe scraped through to the final, finishing 10th in qualifying. Jakara Anthony was the fastest qualifier, with defending champion Perrine Laffont in second.
"It was really fun to finally compete under the flights," Australian Anthony told Olympics.com afterwards. "There's been a massive build up so to be here is so exciting.
"I'm really happy with my run, but there are some bits I can definitely improve. So that's a great place to be - you don't want to be maxing out too early!"
You can follow the best of the freeski action in our Live Blog throughout the Winter Olympics.