For the second day in a row, Penticton’s Andi Naude found herself on the podium at the FIS World Cup in China.
Competing on the course that will be used at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, it was a moment of déja vu for the moguls skiers as Mikaël Kingsbury landed yet another victory and Andi Naude took third place, just as they’d done the day before.
Naude stayed at the top of the leader board during the three rounds, and was clearly thrilled to repeat yesterday’s third-place finish.
Related: Penticton skier lands podium place in China
“Today was an awesome day. I was thrilled to be able to make it on the podium two days in a row and be able to ski six runs that I was really proud of, including my back full, which is the harder trick I do on the top air. It’s a huge confidence boost at the beginning of the season, especially an Olympic season,” said Naude, who added that she enjoyed the course, which offered perfect conditions for the event.
Justine Dufour-Lapointe fell during training, but the Olympic champion was more startled than injured, emerging with just a few scratches to the face.
Mikaël Kingsbury bested the competition by dominating the qualifier, the final and the super final. He posted his highest score, 85.94, on his last run, repeating a pattern set at the start of the season. With this win, Kingsbury now has 10 consecutive World Cup victories to his credit.
“It’s crazy, but I haven’t even really thought about that yet, to be honest. I’m just trying to ski my best and control whatever I can control and I was able to do that today,” said a pleased Kingsbury at the end of the second day of competition. “It’s fantastic to win, especially when my opponents are skiing so well. Dimitriy, Matt, Jae Woo and all the others force me to ski at 100 per cent capacity in order to do my best. If I’m dreaming, I don’t want anyone to wake me up,” said Kingsbury, who now has 45 career wins.
The Canadian moguls skiers now head home for some rest and relaxation over the holidays, and get back on the road on Jan. 3, 2018 en route to Calgary, the site of the first two World Cups on Canadian soil.