Canada’s Mikael Kingsbury finished first in qualifying for the Beijing Olympic men’s moguls final on Thursday, securing a shot to defend his gold medal on Saturday.
Never in doubt @MikaelKingsbury is through to the #Beijing2022 men’s moguls final after finishing first in the qualification round
See him go for on Saturday morning at 6:30 am ET pic.twitter.com/zzzflxIcXJ
— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) February 3, 2022
The native of Deux-Montagnes, Que., raised his arm in celebration after his run. He then received a score of 81.15.
Walter Wallberg of Sweden was second (79.12), while France’s Benjamin Cavet (78.40) was third.
Kingsbury, 29, is considered the most dominant moguls man in history. He is attempting to become the first moguls skier to win three Olympic medals.
The Canadian won gold in 2018 in PyeongChang and silver at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Since the 2018 Olympics, Kingsbury has won all four of his world championship events.
Earlier this year, Kingsbury made his 100th trip to a World Cup podium.
Laurent Dumais of Quebec City finished 24th in qualifying, failing to grab one of the first 10 spots in the final.
Dumais will have another chance to qualify on Saturday.
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