The target will still be on the back of Mikaël Kingsbury during the moguls event at the Beijing Olympics, but the Quebecer does not seem to feel the pressure too much.
Canada has announced the names of the 24 members who will represent the country at the freestyle skiing events in Beijing and Kingsbury is the headliner of an impressive contingent of 12 Quebecers.
The 29-year-old Kingsbury is the most dominant hard worker in the discipline’s history and he will be looking to defend his Olympic title in the Chinese capital. He does not hide that he wanted to arrive at the Games as a man to beat.
“It’s always the position you want to be in. It’s good to be the favorite and that was one of my goals this season, expressed the Deux-Montagnes skier. I won the gold medal at the last Games as a favorite so I know what to expect. It’s been a tough battle this year to get there, but I feel great about it. »
It’s been a tough battle due to the performance of Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, who has won three times this season and has been on the podium at every World Cup event.
If the competition had been a little less fierce for Kingsbury before the Pyeongchang Games in 2018 – he had won six of the first seven World Cup events – this rivalry with Horishima is not unlike that which the Quebecer had maintained with Alexandre Bilodeau, before the Sochi Games in 2014.
“I think this rivalry pushes me to be better and I think that’s the case for him too. I may have an advantage because I experienced it in 2014 with Alexandre, sharing all the victories before the Games, but at the same time, I can’t just think of him. There are other very good skiers, but I will focus on my business,” said Kingsbury.
He will be accompanied by sisters Chloé and Justine Dufour-Lapointe, and Laurent Dumais, from Quebec. Sofia Gagnon of Whistler rounds out the moguls team.
SDLs relieved
Justine’s Olympic qualification had already been assured for some time, but she admitted that it had been difficult to contemplate the idea of her not being accompanied by her sister Chloé for her third consecutive Games.
“I found it super difficult. I think that to feel that stress, to feel that there was a chance that we wouldn’t get there, in that beautiful dream that we’ve been cultivating for four years, was heartbreaking for me. . It was a heartbreaking feeling, admitted Justine Dufour-Lapointe. To now be able to say that we are going there together is a great victory in itself. »
Chloé will become the first Canadian in history to compete in four Olympic Winter Games in freestyle skiing. She qualified with a 13th and 15th place finish in Deer Valley two weeks ago.
“I decided to have fun and finish each run without having a single regret. That’s what I did until the end, she insisted. At Deer Valley, I knew I had to get such a position, but I decided not to put that stress on my shoulders. »
Marion Thénault of Sherbrooke, a former gymnast, leads the women’s aerials team after winning three medals on the World Cup circuit over the past year.
Flavie Aumond, from Lac-Beauport, Naomy Boudreau-Guertin, from Boischatel, Miha Fontaine, from Lac-Beauport, Lewis Irving, from Quebec, and Émile Nadeau, from Prévost, will also be taking part in jumps.
Fontaine, the son of former world champion and former Olympian Nicolas, will follow in his father’s footsteps with a first appearance at the Olympics.
“I find it pleasant, said Miha Fontaine. In the entrance to my house, there are all his medals and all his Olympic bibs so I was wondering if I was going to be able to put mine next to it. It’s to follow in his footsteps, but in my own way.
“I wanted to go to the Games to gain experience, but with my jumps lately, I’ll be able to show that I’m not going there like a young 18-year-old. I can do well there. »
Olivia Asselin, from Lac-Beauport, and Édouard Therriault, from Lorraine, will take part in the slopestyle and high jump events.
Asselin, who just won her first medal at the X Games, will be the second youngest athlete on the Canadian Olympic team at 17.
Cassie Sharpe, the reigning Olympic champion in the women’s halfpipe, will be looking to make a strong comeback after suffering a major knee injury in January 2021.
The men’s halfpipe team, which includes this season’s overall World Cup champion Brendan MacKay, as well as World Championship medalists Noah Bowman and Simon d’Artois, will be looking to stand out. in Beijing.
The 24 freestyle skiing athletes join the group of eight athletes nominated by Alpine Canada to compete in ski cross, a sport that is also considered a freestyle skiing discipline at the Olympic Winter Games.
Team Canada has won 25 Olympic medals in freestyle skiing across disciplines, including a gold medal in moguls at each of the past four Games.
The freestyle skiing events will take place from February 3 to 19 at the Genting Snow Park in Zhangjiakou and at the Shougang Big Jump venue in Beijing.
