At the dawn of a new season, worker Mikaël Kingsbury indicated that he was probably preparing to begin “his last dance” in freestyle skiing.
Kingsbury, who is 32, made the comments on Tuesday after becoming a father to a baby boy named Henrik on August 25. In his own opinion, the arrival of this new addition to the Kingsbury family changed his perspective on sport and life in general.
Asked about the possibility that the 2025 World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, could be his last in his career, the main person concerned somewhat clarified his future plans.
“I don’t know if it will be my last (Worlds), but there is a good chance that yes,” Kingsbury first declared by videoconference from Finland, where the first stage of the new Cup season will take place of the freestyle skiing world this weekend.
“I won’t hide from you that next season will probably be my last dance on my skis,” he added, in reference to the documentary ‘The Last Dance’ broadcast on Netflix on the rise of star player Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s.
“But I want to take it one step at a time, one race at a time,” he continued. It’s sure that (Henrik’s birth) puts everything into perspective, because all my life I’ve been traveling…. (…) It’s difficult, as a skier, because you always have to look for places where there is snow, and at the same time I want to be there (for him). I’m definitely going to quit in 2026 — in fact, there’s a good chance it’s safe.
“Basically, I could retire tomorrow and be ultra-satisfied with everything I’ve done. But I’m ranked first in the world and I know I still have a lot of good skiing in my body. So I’m not looking forward to hanging up my skis, but I know that I’m more towards the end (of my career) than the beginning,” he summarized, reminding in passing that he still had the flame in him.
Kingsbury will begin his World Cup season this weekend in Ruka, Finland. He will try to achieve an 11th victory, and a 13th podium, in his career. For the occasion, he traveled with his partner and their son.
“I couldn’t see myself going five weeks without them. They will be with me here in Finland, then in Idre Fjäll, Sweden (for the second stage of the World Cup, December 6 and 7). Then I’ll be alone on the road for two weeks — it’ll go by quickly — and I’ll come home for the holidays and the North American portion of the calendar,” he explained.
The mogul season will stop in Val St-Côme on January 31 and February 1, and will culminate with the holding of the Freestyle Ski World Championships from March 17 to 30 in Saint-Moritz, Switzerland.
He will then try to defend his titles in the individual event and in parallel acquired at the World Championships in Bakuriani, Georgia, in 2023. Kingsbury also swept the honors in these two disciplines at the World Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2021 , as well as in Deer Valley, Utah, in 2019.
Additionally, Kingsbury will look to add to his collection of individual honors, which also includes 26 crystal globes in the overall World Cup standings.
A role that helps him perform
Life as a new dad is sometimes difficult, with the sleepless nights, tears and new responsibilities that come with it.
However, contrary to what one might believe, the Quebecer believes that becoming a father helps him perform well in his sport.
“It’s the most beautiful thing in the world, even though I spent less time on my skis this summer,” he said. I see it in my training too: I am much less demanding of myself. Henrik has become my priority, even though skiing has been my priority all my life. I love the fact that I can concentrate on my work on the mountain here in Finland, and then be able to come back to the condo and just be a father…
“Before, after a competition, my ‘hamster’ kept rolling around in my head. I was always thinking about skiing, about what I had to do the next day, whereas now I have to live in the present moment. I find that I now have a nice balance in my life,” added the gold medalist in individual moguls at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Games.
The athlete from Deux-Montagnes pointed out in passing that there are now three “dads” on the World Cup circuit, with the Australian Matt Graham and the Japanese Ikuma Horishima.
“We all have children born in 2024,” was quick to say Kingsbury, who has 90 victories and 129 podiums – records – in his career on the freestyle skiing World Cup circuit.
It will now be a question of seeing if he will be able to push his own limits, as Jordan did in his time.
