24th career crystal globe: Mikaël Kingsbury now has as many titles as CH

MISE À DAY

Mikael Kingsbury joined the Montreal Canadiens by winning his 23e and 24e crystal globes Saturday morning in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on the occasion of the last stage of the Moguls World Cup of the season.

The three-time Olympic medalist did things in great by winning the event in parallel in a very tough final against the Swede Walter Wallberg whom he beat by 0 s 03.

After the solo one on Friday, Kingsbury got their hands on the crystal globe in parallel and the one in the cumulative ranking of the two events.

“It's very cool, I hadn't thought of that. , mentioned Kingsbury, who is a big fan of hockey, about the Canadiens' 24 Stanley Cup victories. All that's missing is the Yankees.” The Bronx Bombers have won the World Series 27 times.

This victory is the 80th in career in the World Cup for the pride of Deux-Montagnes. “It's fun to end the season with a victory and even more to reach a number one round, he said. Even though I'm 30, I feel like I can keep improving in a sport where perfection doesn't exist. It's motivating for the future. The plateau of 90 victories is attainable and that of 100 victories may be in the equation. After a break, I will resume training in the gym and I will be back on the snow in June or July.”

The pressure is off

< p>Holding a 68-point lead over Wallberg heading into the race, Kingsbury needed to score a top 8 or better to secure the Crystal Globe if the Swede took the win.

“My first descent of the day was worth gold, he summarized about his duel with the Korean Daeyoon Jung. By winning, I secured the globe. I felt pressure and my victory made me feel good. If I didn't win, I left my fate in Walter's hands and I didn't want that. In the chair coming back up for the next round, I felt good about myself. I skied more relaxed the rest of the day.”

A victory against Wallberg always has a special flavor for Kingsbury, who gave up the top step of the podium to the Swede at the Beijing Olympics. “A win against Walter is always more satisfying,” he admitted. It's fun to see the two leaders in the standings face off in the final. There was a nice square of aces with Matt Graham and Ikuma Horishima. I skied fast and smart. I left nothing on the table. I'm really happy.”

Kingsbury won all three globes for the second consecutive year. “The Olympic race is more publicized, but winning the globe has always been very important to me and requires more effort because it takes place over the whole season and not just one day. My consistency has always been my great strength. Even though I have several globes, each one has its own story. It's always so exciting to climb on the highest of the podium.”