Canadian moguls legend Mikaël “the King” Kingsbury has announced his retirement from competitive mogul skiing, bringing an end to the most dominant career the sport has ever seen. The 33-year-old will step away from competitive mogul skiing after more than a decade at the top of the FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup circuit.
Kingsbury, will retire after the Canadian nationals held in Deux-Montagnes, Quebec, this weekend, bringing his mogul journey full circle. “I started skiing here. I did my first competition on the same course where I’ll do my last,” the legendary mogul skier said in an interview with The Canadian Press. Rising out of Deux-Montagnes, Kingsbury quickly established himself as a prodigy in moguls skiing, a discipline that demands explosive speed, technical precision, and aerial control. By his early 20s, he had already become the face of the sport, known for his aggressive skiing style and near-flawless execution.
During his career, Kingsbury rose through the ranks to become the most successful mogul skier in the history of the sport with 100 World Cup victories, two Olympic gold medals, three Olympic silver medals, nine World Championship titles, and a staggering 29 Crystal Globes. He burst on the World Cup circuit in 2010, winning his first World Cup podium in December 2010 to become the first 18-year-old to win a FIS Freestyle World Cup event. He finished his first full season in overall third place and won the season title in his second season, the 2011-12 season. Since then, he has won 13 Overall Moguls season titles, as well as nine Overall Freestyle title before the FIS restructured the discipline into more sub categories. His retirement fater 100 World Cup victories is no coincidence. “I like round numbers, and I love stats,” he told The Canadian Press, “I was going to retire once I got to at least 100 — it was clear in my mind, I wanted to reach 100.”
During the most recent Olympics, Kingsbury claimed silver in moguls and gold in the dual moguls — a highlight as the 33-year old father of one admits. “Winning this year — and doing it in front of my whole family, my son — that’s number one; knowing also that it was my last performance,” he told The Canadian Press.
What set Kingsbury apart was not just his medal count, but his incredible consistency. Season after season, he delivered podium finishes at an unprecedented rate, often winning multiple events in a single campaign. He claimed nine consecutive Overall Season Titles from 2011-12 to 2019-20. The only thing that broke his winning streak was a fracture of his T4 and T5 vertebrae during the 2020-21 season. Upon his return, he went on to win another four season titles — an incredible dominance in a grueling sport. His ability to perform under pressure is unmatched in men’s mogul skiing. He has claimed the most Freestyle World Cup victories by any man (the record for most freestyle World Cup wins overall is held by a woman: Swiss freestyle skier Conny Kissling, who won 106 World Cup wins during the 1980s and 1990s, competing in moguls, aerials, and acro/ski ballet).
His departure marks the end of an era for freestyle skiing. For over a decade, Kingsbury wasn’t just competing, he was the one to beat, he was “the King,” as he is nicknamed. He leaves a massive legacy and an equally big gap behind in men’s mogul skiing, but since becoming a father, he admits, his focus has shifted. “I’m a father. I want to play with my son. I want to ski with him, do lots of sports with him and stay healthy,” he told The Canadian Press. But fear not, it will not be the last you see of Kingsbury on the moguls course he will be running moguls camps in Hakbua, Japan, and kids ski camps in Saint-Sauveur, Quebec.
SnowBrains wishes him all the best for his retirement — you will be missed, Mikaël!
