LIVIGNO – A fraction of a point, on the turns, was all that separated Mikael Kingsbury from gold in the men’s moguls event at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
Instead, the decorated freestyle skier added another silver medal to his collection in an agonizingly close tiebreak loss.
The 33-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que. tied for the top score of 83.71 with Australia’s Cooper Woods, but the Australian was declared the winner due to higher marks for turns. Japan’s Ikuma Horishima won the bronze with an 83.44 score.
Turns make up 60 per cent of a moguls score, with the two jumps and a racer’s speed counting for 20 per cent each. Woods won the turns element 48.40 to 47.70 to secure his upset victory against one of the sport’s all-time greats.
It was a fourth Olympic medal for Kingsbury. He won gold in Pyeongchang in 2018 and silver in Sochi in 2014 and Beijing in 2022. After Thursday, he is also the first freestyle skier to win a medal in the same event at four straight Games.
“I feel amazing. I’m very happy with my skiing. It was close, a tiebreak – unfortunately, I’m the guy not on the good side of it. But I’ve worked very hard for this medal,” Kingsbury said.
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Kingsbury initially appeared less than thrilled at the result, throwing his skis to the ground when it was announced. However, he later flashed a smile as he held up his medal on the podium.
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“I’m getting older, I’m 33, (and) I had an injury in September. At some point, it felt like it was impossible to be back at that level,” he said. “I want to say a massive thanks to my team that believed in me, made me do my rehab, and worked so hard for me to be standing on that Olympic podium. I’m very proud of myself.”
He qualified for the final round in second behind Woods, who had just one career World Cup podium entering Thursday and no wins.
The Australian’s win was a significant upset over Kingsbury, who earned his record 100th career FIS World Cup victory in January on home snow in Val St-Côme, Quebec.
“(I’m) speechless, super emotional, very proud. I didn’t have any expectations this morning. I just wanted to go out and ski my runs and stay true to what I know I can achieve,” Woods said. “It’s not often that you get one over Mikael, so I’ll take it when I can.”
Woods wept with joy as he realized his achievement of beating the moguls’ GOAT while Aussie fans cheered in the stands, with one holding up an inflatable wallaby.
Later, in a press conference, he called Kingsbury the “top dog” in the sport, and said he understood the Canadian’s momentary frustration at losing the tiebreak.
“I’d be frustrated too,” he said. “He’s been a wonderful man and a respectful friend also, which has been really nice.”
Quebec City’s Julien Viel finished sixth with a score of 79.78, while Drummondville, Que.’s Elliot Vaillancourt finished 14th in the first round of the final, failing to advance to the medal round.
Kingsbury and his teammates will have another opportunity for medals during the Olympic debut of men’s dual moguls event on Feb. 15. Kingsbury confirmed that this will be his last Olympics, noting that he’s become a father and will be 37 years old in four years’ time.
“I just want to enjoy myself,” he said of the dual moguls event. “It’s my last race at the Olympic Games, so I’m going to enjoy every moment and push as hard as I can and ski with no regrets.”
Kingsbury said he will wait until after the Olympics to decide whether he’ll race for the remainder of the World Cup season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2026.
— With files from The Associated Press
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