Mikael Kingsbury soars to dual moguls gold in Japan
Chloe Dufour-Lapointe top Canadian woman in 4th
Canada's Mikael Kingsbury continues to rule the World Cup moguls circuit.
The 24-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., captured his second freestyle World Cup gold medal of the weekend on Sunday, edging Benjamin Cavet of France to claim the dual moguls event.
Kingsbury won the singles moguls event on Saturday, and now with one World Cup remaining next weekend in Taiwoo, China, and then the world championships in Sierra Nevada, Spain, Kingsbury is poised to complete a thoroughly dominant freestyle season.
"It feels amazing," Kingsbury said. "I want to manage my body for the next two events. I won five World Cups in a row so I'm in good position to win both Crystal Globes, and now the main goal is to win both [moguls and dual moguls at the] world championships. So my focus is on that and try to get some good quality skiing in China then head to Spain with a mission."
Kingsbury is a lock to win the Crystal Globe as the top moguls athlete, but is also in great position to earn the Big Crystal Globe awarded to the best freestyle athlete across all disciplines.
His victory Sunday was No. 40 in World Cup competitions.
"The duals were extremely fast," he said. "From the get go, I had to face solid rivals but I managed to ski well on both sides of the course and stay in control.
"My next goal: back-to-back victories at world championships."
Matt Graham of Australia was third Sunday.
Phil Marquis of Quebec City was fifth, Simon Pouliot-Cavanagh of Quebec City was 11th, Marc-Antoine Gagnon of Terrebonne, Que., was 17th, Laurent Dumais of Quebec City was 21st and Calgary's Luke Ulsifer was 38th.
On the women's side, Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal was the top Canadian on the women's side in fourth spot. Andi Naude of Penticton, B.C., was sixth, Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City was seventh, Montreal's Maxime Dufour-Lapointe was eighth, Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal was 12th and Alex-Anne Gagnon of Terrebonne, Que., was 13th.
Jaelin Kauf of the U.S., won gold followed by Yulia Galysheva of Kazakhstan and American teammate Olivia Giaccio.
With files from CBC Sports