Kingsbury is the king of Dual Moguls, tops ‘dad podium’

Not even the Dual Moguls Olympic crown can elude Moguls King Mikael Kingsbury (CAN).

With one shot at adding Dual Moguls gold to his glittering resume at his fourth and final Olympic appearance and the event’s first, Kingsbury overcame Ikuma Horishima (JPN) in the big final on Sunday.

"I gave everything, I had no regrets. I didn't feel too nervous. I trusted my plan, I trusted the work that I put in with my team and just went for it. I'm really happy with the outcome.”

Horishima had taken the lead after both competitors landed cork 10s on the top air but he lost control before the bottom air and could not perform a trick on his second jump. Kingsbury stomped a high-flying back X to take victory 30-5.

“It was hard conditions for me from the start, so that was hard in terms of confidence,” said Horishima, who crossed the finish line backwards in his 1/8-final with Nick Page (USA). “I needed to focus on every run, but my first run I almost skied out. Luckily Nick Page already skied out, so that was lucky for me.

“I tried to hold back, have less speed even though we need speed in Dual Moguls. It was less than my best.”

In the small final at Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park, Matt Graham (AUS) beat Takuya Shimakawa (JPN) 20-15. Both performed cork 10s and backflips but Graham proved superior to take bronze, adding to his Pyeongchang 2018 Moguls silver.

"It means a lot. The other day was a little bittersweet, finishing in fifth place (in Moguls),” he said. “I knew I had enough to get on the podium there. Today was a bit about redemption.

Shimakawa had attempted to set up an all-Japanese final but crossed into Kingsbury’s lane in the semi-finals, losing 33-2.

Time and again on Sunday, Kingsbury showed his aura as head-to-head racing took center stage at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, his presence in the other lane forcing his opponent into mistakes. Daeyoon Jung (KOR) did not finish in their quarter-final battle, Pavel Kolmakov (KAZ) went off line in their 1/8-final, and Matyas Kroupa (CZE) wobbled en route to a 25-10 loss in the 1/16-final.

Kingsbury, who settled for Moguls silver behind Cooper Woods (AUS) on a tiebreaker on 12 February, would not be denied again. His latest victory ensures he has won every accolade the sport has to offer, including Moguls gold at Pyeonchang 2018.

The 33-year-old also became the most bemedaled Freestyle Skiing athlete in Olympic history with five medals. His Games collection also includes Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022 Moguls silver.

Already a historic day, the celebrations were made even more special by the “dad podium”, with the three medalists able to share the moment with their kid.

Kingsbury’s son Henrik and Graham’s daughter Ada are both one, while Horishima’s daughter Kiyu is two years old.

"For us, it's a circle. It's legendary,” said Kingsbury. “We're all very close. Ikuma was the first (to become a dad), and Matt and I, our kids were born 10 days apart.

"It's been fun being on the World Cup tour last year and this year, not chatting about skiing but chatting about our babies.