VESA MOILANEN
The youth movement has arrived in Canadian freestyle skiing - but the reality of success is that the youngsters need to bull through medal-winning Canadian veterans to get to the top of the podium.
Mikael Kingsbury, a World Cup rookie at 18, won his first men's moguls event at Beida Lake, China, on Tuesday, leading a four-medal burst by the Canadian team. It brought the total for Canadians on the international trip before Christmas to eight medals.
Kingsbury, of Deux-Montagnes, Que., pumped through the moguls and leaped in sunny skies to score 25.60 points. He was joined on the podium by veteran Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau of Dummondville, Que., who took third with 24.05. Guilbaut Colas of France was second at 24.15.
Olympic champion Hannah Kearney of the United States won the women's event with 25.34, followed by the Canadian pair of Jennifer Heil of Spruce Grove, Alta., at 25.26 and Kristi Richards of Summerland, B.C., at 23.83.
Kingsbury, citing slow-moving chairlifts, didn't get a chance for a training run between qualifications and finals. "So I talked to my coach and we decided not to risk doing anything different than I had done all day.
"I did a clean run with a back full and a cork 720 [two revolutions] I wasn't the fastest guy, but I didn't make any mistakes."
Kingsbury has been dreaming of a World Cup win since seeing his first World Cup at Mont-Tremblant, Que., at 8. He won a silver medal 10 days ago in Finland at Ruka, just 100 kilometres from the North Pole.
Kingsbury and Justine Dufour-Lapointe, a 16-year-old who also has won a World Cup medal on this trip, have impressed Heil. She was the baby of the freestyle group at the 2002 Winter Olympics but now is the elder statesmen and a five-time Crystal Globe winner as champion of the season-long World Cup.
Heil said it was fun to be with a team that is "on fire." "If I had to give these younger skiers some advice, I would say, 'If you're getting on the podium or close to it, you know what you need to do to get there, so just keep your focus and continue doing what you're doing,'" Heil said.
Rousseau, 31, preparing to retire from the World Cup circuit after the world championships in Deer Valley, Utah, in February, is overwhelmed at how competitive he still is. "I thought last [season]at the Olympics was the pinnacle for me, but I'm still in great shape and I'm still improving."
Rousseau said Kingsbury is fully equipped for mogul skiing, possessing "jumps, speed and the right mindset. … Now I can leave the national team this year with the knowledge that it's in good shape for years to come."
Heil was more than a second ahead of the rest of the field and her total score was only 0.8 behind the leader. Heil said she had "definitely laid the foundation for my confidence and my skiing to be at its maximum after Christmas."
In other results for Canadian men, Eddie Hicks of Langley, B.C., placed eighth; Cédric Rochon of Saint-Sauveur, Que., 15th, and Alex Bilodeau of Rosemere, Que., 17th.
In other results for Canadian women, Audrey Robichaud of Quebec City, came in fourth, Chelsea Henitiuk of Whistler, B.C., eighth, and Maxime Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal 13th.
The team will compete next in the Canada Post Grand Prix event at Ski Mont Gabriel in Quebec on Jan. 15 and 16.