Sochi Winter Olympics Freestyle Skiing Men’s Moguls Qualification Live Stream & Results: Alex Bilodeau, Mikael Kingsbury Favorites
The Canadian duo of Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe ended up No. 1 and 2 in the women's moguls event, respectively, and on Monday, two more Canadians are expected to go toe-to-toe in the men's moguls event of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
While most skiers in the field are expected to be at their best on Monday morning, Alex Bilodeau and Mikael Kingsbury are expected to stand tall over their opponents. According to FIS-Ski, the two Canadian skiing stars have been dominating the moguls event over the past few seasons.
"If both athletes ski at the level that they have over the past seasons, the rest of the field will be left to battle for bronze. Kingsbury and Bilodeau have split the six moguls World Cup events held this winter, with three victories apiece. In four of those six events the two athletes have finished within a single point of each other," FIS-Ski noted.
Bilodeau is slightly favored over his compatriot, and he is also expected to go all out to successfully defend his Olympic title that he won in 2010 in Vancouver after scoring 26.75 in the finals. The 26-year-old Canadian is also on a roll, winning the last three world cup stops in Deer Valley, Lake Placid, and Val St. Come.
"I'm in the right position," Bilodeau told the Charlotte Observer. "I'm happy about it but on Monday it's going to be all to show what I can do. There's nothing that is a given, so I need to work hard for it."
On the other hand, Kingsbury remains confident about his chances, as he has also performed very well in past world cups. Kingsbury won at the Ruka, Calgary, and Deer Valley stops. The 21-year-old Canadian skiing icon is also the reigning world champion.
"I think I can win any event if I ski at my best, so I will focus to do the best run of my life for the job that I need to do," Kingsbury said.
Bilodeau and Kingsbury are poised to give Canada a 1-2 finish, but American skier Patrick Deneen is considered as a dark horse in the event. Deneen finished third in Calgary last month and second to Bilodeau in Lake Placid in which he finished .30 points behind Bilodeau.
The freestyle men's mogul qualification round 1 will start at 9 a.m. EST Monday, while the second round will kick off at 9:50 a.m. EST. Skiing fans can catch the action through live stream at NBC Olympics Live Extra. A complete start list is available at the official website of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Running results can be viewed here.