Four-Medal Day in Freestyle
INAWASHIRO, JAPAN – Canada rocked the bumps on one of the toughest mogul courses in the world here today, earning a total our four medals — two gold and two bronze –- at the eighth stop of the 2013 FIS Freestyle mogul World Cup tour.
Mikael Kingsbury and Audrey Robichaud landed on the top of their fields after charging down the 30-degree course. Teammates Alex Bilodeau and Chloé Dufour-Lapointe both added bronze.
For Kingsbury (Deux-Montagnes, QC), who clinched his 2014 Olympic nomination last week, it was the sixth win of this pre-Olympic season, in just eight events.
After finishing fourth in the first final today, the resilient 20-year-old rebounded to score 23.41 in the super-final for the win. Bradley Wilson of the US took the silver at 23.31 and reigning Olympic Champion Alex Bilodeau (Rosemère, QC) was third with a score of 22.65.
“I had a difficult time in the finals,” said Kingsbury. “Actually I didn’t ski the run I wanted to ski but I fought and made it into the super finals … I learned from my finals run and managed to put it together for a clutch performance in the end, so I’m super stoked,” said the 20-year old who keeps his hold on the yellow leader’s bib.
Audrey Robichaud
Bilodeau, who topped the standings after an excellent performance in the first finals round said he was disappointed with his third-place super final showing. “I landed a bit too heavy on the top air and I was a bit too fast which made me make some little mistakes,” he said, adding that the challenge for everyone today was keeping speed in check because the course was so slippery. “I think we [the Canadian Team] are very strong technically and that’s what made the difference for us.”
On the women’s side, it was the second time Robichaud stood at the top the podium in the land of the rising sun, as she won the dual mogul competition event in Naeba last year.
Today the Quebec City native dominated the field, winning the finals round and then going on to score 20.62 to edge the Czech Republic’s Nikola Sudova, at 20.33, in the super final. Montreal, Que.’s Chloé Dufour-Lapointe bested her little sister Justine for the bronze, scoring 19.25 to Justine’s 17.81.
Freestyle World Cup action continues tomorrow with a dual mogul event in Japan and an Aerial event in the Ukraine.
