Stellar on the Slopes
Canadian skiers proved their dominance this weekend with an impressive performance in World Cup action. Mikael Kingsbury continued to re-write the record books in moguls, while a pair of sisters proved to be a force to be reckoned with. Not to be outdone, Erik Guay continues his march towards setting a new standard for Canada Alpine skiers.
Kingsbury extends streak, Dufour-Lapointe sisters join podium
Mikael Kingsbury of Deux-Montagnes, QC extending his record podium streak to 18 straight after winning gold with a score of 24.00 at the Moguls World Cup in Calgary this weekend. The victory earned the young skier his 13th career win and 25th World Cup medal.
Photo: Mike Ridewood/Canadian Freestyle Ski Association
A few uncharacteristic mistakes left Kingsbury in fifth place entering the super final, but the 20-year-old rallied to finish ahead of Russian Alexandr Smyshlyaev who scored 23.90 and Sho Endo of Japan who captured bronze with a final score of 22.68.
Kingsbury only needs a finish in the top two-thirds of the field from either the Sochi test event next month or the World Championships in March to all but secure his 2014 Olympic spot.
“Going into the last run of the day I said to myself, ‘OK, this is my first time in a super final that I’m [ranked] low like that, so I’m just going to push and make the other guys behind me push too’,” said Kingsbury.
On the women’s side, Montreal sisters Justine and Chloé Dufour-Lapointe shared their first gold, silver podium on the FIS World Cup circuit.
The win also moved Justine closer to securing her sport for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games by winning one of two podiums required for Canada’s ‘Method A’ selection. The victory also helped puts her at the top of the World Cup tour as the women’s moguls leader and the holder of the FIS yellow bib.
Photo: Canadian Freestyle Ski Association
“I landed after all those runs and just to understand that you won a yellow bib for the first time, it’s amazing,” said Justine. “And it’s even better to share it, not just with my teammate, but my sister. It’s beautiful. Actually it’s so much, I’m not really ready to talk about all of it right now. There’s so much to get used to, having my sister, having the yellow bib; winning in Canada in front of family and friends; and, sharing the yellow bib with Mikael, it’s a perfect day.”
Guay captures silver in Austria
Erik Guay of Mont-Tremblant, QC captured downhill silver at the World Cup of Kitzbühel, Austria on Saturday. The reigning world champion won his 19th World Cup podium and is now just one shy of matching the all-time Canadian record set by Crazy Canuck legend Steve Podborski, who holds the Canadian record for World Cup podiums with 20.
“I’m pumped that from top to bottom I was attacking and skiing well. I did pretty much everything I had to do,” said Guay, who clocked a time of one minute, 29.06 seconds on the shortened course. “I definitely feel like I was one of the better skiers out there today. I had a little bit tougher conditions but (the late starters) took advantage of their start position well.”
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