Canadian Mikael Kingsbury has won the gold medal in men’s freestyle ski moguls at the Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea.
The 25-year-old from Deux-Montagnes, Que., scored 86.63 in the third and final run to take top spot.
Three Canadians qualified for the finals: Kingsbury, Marc-Antoine Gagnon and Philippe Marquis, with Kingsbury in the top position going into the final runs. Both Kingsbury and Gagnon made it to the last run.
WATCH: Unsure about his future, Kingsbury was determined to win gold in Pyeongchang
Australian Matt Graham won silver and Daichi Hara of Japan won bronze. Gagnon finished in fourth place.
Ever since he was a child Kingsbury has thought about this title, pinning a picture of the Olympic rings above his bed as a youngster growing up in Quebec.
“I have dreamed about this day one million times,” Kingsbury told reporters.
“I dreamed about it again last night. It is unbelievable. I am the Olympic champion and I will be for the rest of my life.”
Marquis did not finish after falling in the first run of the finals. He had recently torn his ACL and left the course in visible discomfort after landing his first jump.
One of Kingsbury’s biggest competitors, Ikuma Horishima of Japan, fell on his second finals run and did not qualify for the last round. Several skiers had similar experiences: three fell in the second run of the finals.
WATCH: Kingsbury knew his experience would provide an edge in freestyle finals
Kingsbury won silver at his Olympics debut in Sochi, behind fellow Canadian Alex Bilodeau. Since then, he’s dominated the sport, winning six straight Crystal Globes as the overall World Cup champion for both moguls and all of freestyle skiing.
–With files from Reuters
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