Mikael Kingsbury wins Canada's first gold of Games in his final Olympics

LIVIGNO, Italy -- Canada's Mikael Kingsbury, widely considered one of the best moguls skiers of all time, ended a decorated Winter Olympics career on Sunday with a fast-paced final run that earned him a gold in the Italian Alps.

Kingsbury won the new Olympic event of dual moguls, three days after he had to settle for silver in the single moguls, in what he said was his last Games appearance.

It was the first gold medal for Canada in the Milan Cortina Games.

He beat Ikuma Horishima of Japan, who started strong in the final head-to-head race but lost control and had to bail on the required second jump. Australia's Matt Graham took bronze on a sunny day in the mountain town of Livigno.

Kingsbury, at 33 the oldest man racing in dual moguls, has claimed a medal in each of the four Olympics he entered.

His first win was a silver in Sochi in 2014, followed by gold at Pyeongchang 2018 and silver at Beijing 2022.

"I really wanted this one and I knew it was my last Olympic performance," Kingsbury said on Sunday. "I gave everything. I had no regrets."

The Canadian said he dreamed of becoming an Olympic champion when he was 8 years old. He said he printed the Olympic rings on a piece of paper and wrote "I will win."

"I always believed I could do it," he said. "I trusted myself."

On Sunday, Kingsbury held both skis high in the air as he was proclaimed the winner. He closed his eyes and sang along to the national anthem as he stood on the podium. Fans in the crowd waved red-and-white Canadian maple leaf flags.

Dual moguls is a new event at the Olympics, pitting skiers together in a head-to-head elimination format in which two competitors race side-by-side through parallel bump fields. Speed counts, but so do turns and aerial maneuvers.

--Reuters, special to Field Level Media