16 of ’16: Mikaël Kingsbury wins fifth straight Crystal Globe
With the year coming to a close, Olympic.ca will look back at 16 of the most memorable Team Canada stories of 2016. As a new “16 of ‘16” story is revealed daily, you can find the entire series here.
Mikaël Kingsbury remained King of the Hill in 2016, winning his fifth straight crystal globe in moguls at the end of the FIS World Cup season.
However, that victory didn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
Over the past six years Kingsbury has become a force to be reckoned with on the international circuit. When Kingsbury became the youngest crystal globe winner in 2012, he got his first taste of what it meant to be the best male mogul skier and never looked back.
Mikael Kingsbury celebrates his World Cup moguls victory in Calgary on January 30, 2016.
Related: Kingsbury dominates as Canada wins Nations Cup in Moscow
The 2015-16 season was especially sweet for the Sochi 2014 silver medallist. In December Kingsbury broke the record for most World Cup victories, surpassing Edgar Grospiron’s previous mark of 28. The Canadian went on to finish the season winning 12 of 16 World Cup races and his fifth crystal globe.
With a resume jam-packed with success, Kingsbury headed into the 2016-17 season as a mogul legend. At the first World Cup event in Finland the Canadian extended his World Cup winning record to 34.
Related: Kingsbury kicks off World Cup season with moguls gold in Finland
If 34 victories doesn’t sound impressive on its own, keep in mind that Kingsbury has only competed in 70 World Cup races, which means he’s won almost 50 per cent of the time, and that’s just gold medals. Kingsbury has made a total of 54 World Cup podium appearances and he’s only 24-years-old.
Mikaël Kingsbury of Canada competes in the super final at the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup Saturday, January 23, 2016 in Val St-Come, Que.
Related: Multi-sport star Kingsbury
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Kingsbury plans on wrapping up the pre-Olympic season with his sixth straight crystal globe, before going for gold at PyeongChang 2018. With five unreal seasons on his account, we cannot wait to see what the future holds for Kingsbury.
