Mikaël Kingsbury captures moguls gold medal to open World Cup season | CBC Sports

It was a much more enjoyable day for the 29-year-old after he fractured his T4 and T5 vertebrae in his back on Nov. 29, 2020, while training ahead of the season opener in Ruka.

Pavel Kolmakov of Kazakhstan was second (82.10) in Saturday’s competition while Japan’s Ikoma Horishima (81.12) rounded out the medal podium.

Fellow Canadians Kerrian Chunlaud of Ste-Foy, Que., and Brenden Kelly of Pemberton, B.C., finished inside the top 20 in 17th and 18th, respectively, while Gabriel Dufresne of Joliette, Que., and Elliot Vaillancourt of Drummondville, Que., placed 25th and 36th.

In March, Kingsbury won the dual moguls event at the world championship, one day after capturing the moguls crown in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

WATCH | Kinsgbury discusses back injury:

Mikael Kingsbury: ‘It could have been way worse’

Reigning Olympic and world moguls champion Mikael Kingsbury describes how his back injury occurred and says confident he’ll return to action this season. 2:24