Four Canadians book spot in moguls finals after first round of qualifications

A seasoned champion and three Olympic newcomers are headlining moguls which kicked off on Tuesday.

Julien Viel came away with the top placement for a Canadian, finishing second in the first round of men’s qualifications, automatically granting him a spot in the final. That was one spot ahead of three-time Olympic medallist Mikaël Kingsbury.

In moguls, the top 10 from the first qualification round move directly to the first round of the finals, while the remaining skier competed in a second round of qualifying for 10 additional spots in the final. The top eight competitors from that group of 20 then move onto the second final round to determine the medal winners.

Viel said there were some nerves heading into the event, but his performance went about as well as planned.

“I’m happy to have qualified; it’s one less source of stress, and I can now focus on the final,” he said. “I felt good with my routine at the top. This morning I was feeling some nerves, but once I got on my skis, everything came together. I’m happy with my Olympic debut.”

Viel had a big breakthrough just last month when he won his first career World Cup gold medal in dual moguls at Val St. Come.

Directly behind Viel was the King of Moguls, Mikaël Kingsbury, who finished in third place on Tuesday. Kingsbury’s Olympic debut is almost a distant memory; he’s now participating in his fourth Olympic Games.

Those memories are happy ones, though. The 33-year-old became the first male moguls skier to ever win three Olympic medals after his silver at Beijing 2022, and he is looking for yet another piece of hardware to add to his collection of one Olympic gold, two Olympic silvers, nine World titles, and 100 World Cup victories.

READ: Parenthood brings perspective for moguls legend Mikaël Kingsbury

“Not my best,” Kingsbury said, rather optimistically about his run. “There’s plenty to improve on which I’m very happy… The good part is I can go faster, I can improve my skiing, and upgrade my two jumps.”

Leading the pack was Japan’s Ikuma Horishima, a long-time friendly rival of Kingsbury, who is looking to win his first Olympic gold.

On the women’s side, another two Canadians booked their spots in the finals as Maïa Schwinghammer finished sixth, while Laurianne Desmarais-Gilbert finished in eighth.

Schwinghammer was one of the final racers of the day and admitted to nerves ahead of her run.

“It was definitely really quiet up there with no other athletes at the end… It definitely added some stress to an already stressful day, you know – Olympic debut.”

The 24-year-old from Saskatoon eased all concern and scored a 74.90. Schwinghammer has been on the radar for a possible medal after she claimed bronze in the 2025 World Championships in moguls.

She’ll have a number of people to celebrate with should she reach the podium.

“My whole family is here, my brother, my sister… I was so happy I was able to calm the nerves and perform a clean, conservative run that I knew I was capable of, and I’ll be ready to push tomorrow.”

Gilbert-Desmarais is also making her Olympic debut and will advance thanks to a top 10 finish.

“Since crossing the finish line, I’m officially an Olympian, and that’s truly amazing.”

On the men’s side, Elliot Vaillancourt will need another chance to reach the final on Thursday after finishing in 16th place. 

On the women’s side, Ashley Koehler placed 13th while Jessica Linton was two spots behind her in 15th.

The second round of qualifying and final goes Wednesday for the women, and Thursday for the men.