Quebec's Freestyle Skiing Dynasty Prepares for Olympic Glory
The Canadian Olympic Committee has announced that Mikaël Kingsbury, the most successful moguls skier in history, will carry Canada's flag alongside skicross champion Marielle Thompson at the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. This honor recognizes Kingsbury's unparalleled career and signals high expectations for Quebec's dominant freestyle skiing contingent.
A Legacy of Excellence
Kingsbury's journey began in Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, where at age eight he joined the freestyle club at Mont Saint-Sauveur and placed Olympic rings above his bed with the declaration: "I will win." That childhood determination has manifested in a career that has cemented Quebec's reputation as a powerhouse in freestyle skiing.
The province's tradition of excellence dates to the 1990s with Jean-Luc Brassard and continued through champions like Alexandre Bilodeau and Montreal's Dufour-Lapointe sisters. Today, Quebec athletes represent a remarkable proportion of Canada's freestyle skiing team:
- Five of seven moguls/dual moguls skiers are from Quebec
- All five aerial team members hail from the province
- Half of Canada's six-member slopestyle/big air team are Québécois
The Making of a Champion
Several factors contribute to Quebec's disproportionate success in these niche sports:
- A strong community of aerial skiers and numerous role models
- Numerous small ski hills throughout the province with terrain centers and mogul runs
- Canada's only training center for acrobatic skiing located in Lac-Beauport
- The deep-seated passion exemplified by athletes like Kingsbury
Record-Breaking Achievements
On January 10, 2026, Kingsbury achieved what no other freestyle skier has accomplished: 100 World Cup victories. He reached this milestone at the men's singles moguls event in Val St-Côme, Quebec, where his parents presented him with the gold medal as he held his 16-month-old son, Henrik.
"It still feels kind of crazy — like a ton of bricks falling off your shoulders," Kingsbury told the Canadian Olympic Committee. "It feels good to know I can win 100, knowing I still have a month left before the Olympics."
Olympic Pedigree and Current Form
Kingsbury's Olympic record is equally impressive:
- Silver medal at Sochi 2014
- Gold medal at Pyeongchang 2018 (when he was named Canada's Athlete of the Year)
- Silver medal at Beijing 2022
Despite being 33 years old in a sport that favors younger athletes, Kingsbury continues to innovate. In 2019, he became the first person to complete a cork 1440 in competition—an off-axis aerial trick involving four horizontal rotations while flipping off-axis. He credits exceptional spatial recognition for his ability to perform this complex maneuver repeatedly.
Challenges and Competition
This season has presented unique challenges for the veteran skier. Kingsbury withdrew from the December World Cup opener in Finland due to a groin injury and pulled out of the dual moguls event at Val St-Côme to protect his body before the Olympics. Meanwhile, his teammate, 24-year-old Julien Viel of Quebec City, has been ascending in the rankings.
Their main international competitor will be Ikuma Horishima of Japan, who currently leads the overall moguls rankings. However, Kingsbury's recent victory at Val St-Côme demonstrates he can still win gold even when not at peak physical condition.
The Final Chapter?
Kingsbury has indicated that Milano Cortina will "probably" be his final Olympic appearance. The games will feature the Olympic debut of dual moguls, where competitors race side-by-side on parallel tracks—an event in which Kingsbury will compete alongside his traditional moguls discipline.
Despite the physical toll of a sport that involves performing aerial acrobatics at 40 kilometers per hour, Kingsbury has suffered only one major injury in his career—fractured vertebrae in 2020 that kept him sidelined for months. His resilience and continued success at an age when most moguls skiers have retired speak to his extraordinary dedication and talent.
As Canada prepares for the 2026 Winter Olympics, all eyes will be on Mikaël Kingsbury and Quebec's freestyle skiing contingent. Their combination of technical mastery, provincial support systems, and unwavering determination positions them as strong medal contenders who will continue Quebec's legacy of excellence on the world's biggest winter sports stage.
