So close to gold, Kingsbury delivers a historic performance at Milano Cortina 2026
It’s hard to come any closer to a gold medal.
Mikaël Kingsbury won silver in men’s moguls at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games on Thursday. A tiebreaker was needed to separate the “King of Moguls” from the day’s gold medallist, Australia’s Cooper Woods.
Seventh of the eight finalists to drop in, Kingsbury moved into the provisional lead with 83.71 points. Clearly pleased with his run, he looked relieved at the bottom of the course.
The final skier of the round, however, shook things up. Woods, who had needed the second qualification round earlier in the day to reach the finals, pulled off a surprise by posting the exact same score as the Canadian.
Their turn scores were used to break the tie, with Woods earning 48.4 points to Kingsbury’s 47.7.
“You can’t script this, just unfortunate that I’m on the bad side of the tiebreak, but I’m very happy,” said Kingsbury. “I mean, it’s my fourth medal. It’s very special, but I believed in myself until the last moment when I saw the ‘one’ pop on the board. I couldn’t believe it.
“I made some small mistakes—I wasn’t perfect. The conditions were tough, and I maximized what I could under the circumstances. After my run, I really thought I had the gold in hand. It’s tough to be on the wrong side of a tiebreaker,” he added with a laugh.
For Kingsbury, the outcome was reminiscent of Beijing 2022, where he also finished second. “It feels a bit like Beijing, but this one stings a little more. I don’t mean heartbreaking in the sense that I’m disappointed. It’s just so close.”
Kingsbury becomes the first freestyle skier to win a medal at four consecutive Olympic Games. In addition to his silver in 2022, he also captured silver at Sochi 2014 behind teammate Alexandre Bilodeau, before winning gold at PyeongChang 2018.
The 33-year-old, who suffered a groin injury in September, said he dealt with pain throughout the season. The injury forced him to skip the FIS World Cup opener in Ruka, Finland, in December. He later returned to competition at the World Cup in Val Saint-Côme, where he celebrated his 100th career victory on home snow.
After the medal ceremony, Kingsbury thanked the specialists on his team who helped him get back on his skis following the injury.
“When I got injured this summer, there were times when it was hard to believe I’d make it back. In November, during training, I couldn’t link two moguls together in a straight line. And yet here I am, on the Olympic podium.”
Although gold slipped away, Kingsbury fulfilled an important dream: competing at an Olympic Games in front of his son Henrik, born in 2024.
“It’s special. My little guy—whether I finish last or win—he smiles just the same. That feels good.
“These are my last Games. I worked really hard for that one. Doing it [while] being a dad, it’s incredible the amount of work and some nights the lack of sleep but I kept pushing. I have an amazing partner who let me chase my dreams another time.”
Now a four-time Olympic medallist, Kingsbury could add to his collection Sunday in the dual moguls event. In the meantime, he’ll be keeping an eye on the medal table.
“I do this sport for me, but I looked every day in the past couple of days at the medal count and hoped my [Team Canada] teammates from other disciplines would [win gold]. So there’s a part of me today that wanted to win that first one for the country. It’s definitely the closest I’ve been from silver to gold,” he concluded.
The other Canadian in the final, Julien Viel, finished sixth.
“It wasn’t my best run. I made a few mistakes. I’m happy with my performance and I’ll learn a lot from today,” said the 24-year-old, competing in his first Olympic Games.