King of the bumps: Kingsbury takes gold in the Olympic debut of men's dual moguls

Audio By Carbonatix

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Freestyle skiing great Mikael Kingsbury upheld his reputation as the best in the bumps by winning the first Olympic gold in men’s dual moguls in the Italian Alps on Sunday.

The 33-year-old Canadian beat top rival Ikuma Horishima of Japan in the head-to-head final as the men's side of the sport made its Olympic debut at the Milan Cortina Games.

It was Kingsbury's fifth Olympic medal in what he has said is his last Games.

“I really wanted this one, and I knew it was my last Olympic performance,” Kingsbury said.

This was the first Games to have dual moguls, with two skiers competing side-by-side as they carve through the bumpy course and complete two acrobatic jumps. They are judged for their skiing, the execution and difficulty of their jumps, and their times.

In moguls, which has been an Olympic event since 1992, skiers go down the course individually before their scores are ranked.

Kingsbury, who has amassed a record 100 World Cup wins, first won Olympic gold in moguls at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

He collected his third Olympic silver medal Thursday when he lost the moguls final in an upset to Australia’s Cooper Woods. He also finished second in the event in 2014 and 2022.

This was Canada’s first gold medal of these Games.

The final was no contest as Kingsbury won 30-5 after Horishima lost control and blew past the second ramp without jumping.

“I tried to hold back, have less speed even though we need speed in dual moguls,” Horishima said. “It was less than my best.”

Horishima, 28, added the silver to his two bronze medals in moguls that he won earlier this week and in Beijing in 2022.

Australia’s Matt Graham edged Japan’s Takuya Shimakawa for the bronze in Livigno.

On Saturday, Australia's Jakara Anthony won gold in the debut of women's dual moguls.

___

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics