adminMikael Kingsbury and Justine-Dufour Lapointe earned gold and silver medals in Calgary today. The Canadian teens are seemingly unstoppably making their mark on the FIS World Cup mogul scene this year.
With his performance at the Canada Post Grand Prix at Canada Olympic Park, 19-year-old Kingsbury is one gold medal away from tying the FIS World Cup record of six consecutive wins.
Scoring 24.30, Kingsbury took the win in a somewhat anti-climactic super final today. Jeremy Cota of the US was second at 23.94; while the rest of the competition – American Sho Kashima and Sho Endo of Japan fell in the final round, winding up third and fourth, consecutively.
Unfortunately Kashima injured his knee on his final round and had to make his way to the podium in a giant leg splint.
Kingsbury said his best run of the day was in the finals; where he pulled a huge double back flip off the top air followed by a cork 720 on the second jump.
“I’m super excited to win five in a row,” said the Deux-Montagnes, Que. native. “And it was a great event, this was the best course I’ve seen in Calgary.”
Asked whether he was feeling pressure to match Jeremy Bloom’s 2005 record of six consecutive wins, Kingsbury replied, “No, I don’t feel the pressure. It’s been a perfect season for me so far and after such a great start it doesn’t matter what happens next.”
Besides, he added, “I like the pressure of being the guy to beat.”
Three other Canadian men made today’s final, including Marc-Antoine Gagnon of Terrebonne, Que. who was fifth; Cedric Rochon of St. Sauveur, Que., who was 10th; and, Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Drummondville, Que., who was 16th.
Canadians who did not make finals included Philippe Marquis of Quebec City in 17th; Eddie Hicks of Langley, B.C. in 19th; P-O Gagne of Montreal in 32nd and Simon Lemieux of Repentigny, Que. in 36th spot.
On the women’s side, Montreal’s Justine Dufour-Lapointe earned her fourth-straight silver medal with a score of 23.11 while American Hannah Kearney continued to dominate the field and won today at 24.82. Kearney’s teammate KC Oakley was third at 22.06 and Quebec City’s Audrey Robichaud was the fourth woman in the super final, at 21.76.
The 17-year-old Dufour-Lapointe was bubbling with energy after today’s performance., which she characterized as a turning point.
“I’m so happy, seriously I’m more than proud of myself because today I reached another level for my confidence. I worked hard and I think mentally now I am more consistent and have more control. And I’m dealing with my stress better,” she said.
Other Canadian women in the final included Chelsea Henitiuk who was 8th; and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe who was 11th.
Canadian women who did not advance to finals included: Beatrice Bilodeau of Rosemere, Que. in 18th; Maxime Dufour-Lapointe in 19th; Alex Dufresne of Lorraine Que. in 23rd and Christel Hamel of St. Sauveur, Que. in 24th.
