Freestyle Canada- Ruka,  December 10, 2016 – The Canadian Moguls Team was off to a great start at the season opener in Ruka, Finland. The Canadian team was led by Mikael Kingsbury, Phil Marquis and Justine Dufour-Lapointe, who all qualified for their respective super finals.
 
2016 Crystal Globe winner Mikael Kingsbury took charge in the final with a gold-winning performance scoring 84.26 under clear skies.
 
‘’I woke up this morning and felt really confident and had a great day of training yesterday, which really helped. Heading into the final, I knew I could win with the clean execution of a back-full and a 1080. I was consistent all day, and without really having to push too hard. It feels really good landing that last run without making any mistakes, and winning before Christmas. ‘’
 
Last season, Mikael surpassed Edgar Grospiron’s record as the most winning men’s moguls athlete, and has clearly built on that momentum as he heads into the Olympic qualifying period and the highly anticipated 2017 season.
 
Philippe Marquis and Marc-Antoine Gagnon finished 6^th and 10th respectively. Unfortunately, Philippe lost control during his run in the super final, but is more than capable of finding himself on the podium.
 
‘’The last three days I felt as I did prior to my injury, I was confident and my training was going well.’’ explained Marc-Antoine, who made his official return to competition today. Considering what I went through in the last year, knowing that I was mentally ready, it’s fun.  I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made in the last year…I’m excited for the next race in Lake Placid, as it’s a course that I’ve always enjoyed and where I’ve found success. ‘’
 
Justine Dufour-Lapointe led the Canadian women as she combined her technical aerial manoeuvres, incredible speed and amplitude. She found herself in the super final and fell just short of the podium in 5^th place.
 
‘’ I’m a little disappointed with the result today, I would have loved to be in another position than fifth, but I’m still very proud as I pushed myself during each run. It wasn’t necessarily easy, because the course was quite simple, you really had to maximize your speed and amplitude. On the last run I pushed my limits, and for that I’m really proud. ‘’
 
Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Audrey Robichaud and Chloé Dufour-Lapointe landed within the top 10, finishing 8^th, 9^th and 10^th respectively.

Full event results can be found here:

Men: http://www.fis-ski.com/freestyle-skiing/moguls-aerials/events-and-places/event=39094/race=9526/?season=2017&discipline=MO,DM,AE&gender=all&race_id=9526&sector=FS

Women: http://www.fis-ski.com/freestyle-skiing/moguls-aerials/events-and-places/event=39094/race=9526/?season=2017&discipline=MO,DM,AE&gender=all&race_id=9525&sector=FS
 

Upcoming Events (December)

• FIS World Cup – December 15-17 – Copper Mountain – Halfpipe
• FIS World Cup – December 17-18 – Beida Lake – Aerials

For more information and media inquiries please contact: 

Dominique Ladouceur, Manager, Athlete Relations
Cell: 514.576.2379
Email: dominique@freestylecanada.ski

Freestyle Canada is the governing body in Canada for the sport of Freestyle Skiing. With the support of its valued corporate sponsors along with the Government of Canada, Canadian Olympic Committee and Own the Podium, FC develops Olympic and world champions in all disciplines of the sport. For more information about FC, please visit www.freestylecanada.ski