鈥淲e did it.鈥�
Launching himself into the arms of his coach Rob Kober of Penticton, those were the only words Mika毛l Kingsbury remembers saying after winning the Olympic gold medal in men鈥檚 moguls last Sunday.
鈥淚 was just so unreal, it seemed to be happening so fast, I just couldn鈥檛 believe it, it was crazy so much happening all at once,鈥� said Kingsbury, 25 of Deux-Montagnes, Que. in a telephone interview with the Western 亚洲天堂 this week from South Korea where he was competing at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. 鈥淏ut that was one of my favourite moments about winning the gold medal, just to see Rob and my parents at the bottom.
鈥淚 was chatting with Rob before that run 鈥� we have such a good connection 鈥� and we had a good plan, I just had to execute and I did. He (Kober) just deserves so much credit. We鈥檙e so close, he鈥檚 like a father to me. We don鈥檛 have to talk, sometimes we just know how each other feels.
鈥淏ecause of him when I push the start gate I know I have all the tools to win.鈥�
| Moguls skier Mika毛l Kingsbury on Kristi's Run at Apex during pre-Games training which he says helped him win his gold medal.Mark Brett/Western 亚洲天堂 |
鈥淎fter his last run I was pretty sure he did win,鈥� said Kober who is now in Alberta with family, watching his daughter Chloe who competes for the B.C. Freestyle team. 鈥淭he first two runs he had mistakes and we knew the last run was the one that counted. I knew if Mik just cleaned it up a little bit he was going to win and I just basically told him that.
鈥淕oing into that start gate for that last run was super intense but definitely feeling like it was his for the taking. I felt super confident.鈥�
This is Kober鈥檚 second gold medal as head coach, Alex Bilodeau won in Sochi in 2014 (Kingsbury won silver) but this one was different.
鈥淎lex was a great skier and we definitely tried to include him in the team as much as we could but he chose to train privately on his own,鈥� said Kober. 鈥淥f course because Mik has been with us and developed through the program from his start on the national team to becoming Olympic champion, that has very special meaning for my team, for our program and of course for myself personally.鈥�
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Kingsbury was just 17 when he got the 鈥渂ig call鈥� to join the national team. He looks back fondly on the years he and Kober have worked to make the dreams of a nine-year-old boy who had the Olympic rings taped to his bedroom ceiling, come true.
| Olympic gold medalist Mika毛l Kingsbury during a break from training at Apex Mountain Resort just before leaving for South Korea.Mark Brett/Western 亚洲天堂 |
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a crazy ride and it鈥檚 hard to put into words 鈥� this is the best feeling in the world.鈥�
Kingsbury was also quick to lend his emotional support to his friend and Canadian teammate Andi Naude of Penticton after she fell short of winning her old gold medal on the moguls hill the day before.
Naude was disqualified after going off track on her last run of the women鈥檚 moguls super finals. She was in first place heading into her final run.
鈥淎ndi was the first one I messaged after her event. I just said she鈥檚 a great girl and she鈥檚 amazing and she won peoples hearts,鈥� recalled Kingsbury. 鈥淚 said to her you are an awesome human being and no one can take that away from you and that鈥檚 better than a medal.鈥�
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The men鈥檚 team was not at the mountain for that race.
鈥淲e all knew that you鈥檙e either going to be super psyched or super devastated but either way it takes a ton of energy and in the end the boys decided not to go and I decided to stay back in the village with them so we watched it on TV like everybody back home,鈥� said Kober. 鈥淚 did a couple of days later have a chance to give Andi a hug and tell her how great she is. She seemed to be devastated but was doing as well as possible at the time.
鈥淚 hope she keeps going because she鈥檚 a very bright, very special young lady but she鈥檚 going to be feeling the need to get on with things too.鈥�
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Both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 skiers were at Apex Mountain Resort for 10 days of training immediately before leaving for South Korea.
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鈥淭he people at Apex were giving us a a great camp and it was a lot of fun, I was able to do some runs I wanted to do before PyeongChang and that really helped my confidence,鈥� said Kingsbury. 鈥淭he training course at Apex is amazing and the schedule was perfect and that played a big role for me. Because of that I arrived (in PyeongChang) and I was fresh and I was happy and that鈥檚 why I won the gold medal here.鈥�
Moguls skiers will be back on the FIS World Cup circuit again the first week in March when they travel to Japan then to Europe before closing out the season at Marmot Basin in Jasper, Alta. at the end of March.
Apex is hosting the Canadian Junior Championships featuring moguls, dual moguls and aerial events March 7-11.
