What to know
- Team Canada had been gold medal-less heading into the ninth day of the Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina
- That all changed when Mikaël Kingsbury delivered an outstanding performance at the game’s inaugural dual moguls match.
- Kingsbury was and continues to be the most decorated player in the sport, now with five Olympic medals under his belt.
Canada’s first Olympic gold at this year’s games comes from Mikaël Kingsbury in the first-ever men’s dual moguls.
Moguls skiing has been an official event in the Olympics for over two decades, but this is the inaugural year of the dual moguls – a one-on-one competition in which two skiers race side-by-side down a slope of large snow mounds. Competitors are judged by their speed and style.
Canadians react to the country’s first gold
Canada brings home the gold🥇🇨🇦
— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) February 15, 2026
Congratulations, @MikaelKingsbury!
pic.twitter.com/Ua9y4XKJlL
“I knew I could count on the king of moguls Mikaël Kingsbury to bring in Canada’s first gold!!!” an X user wrote.
“I knew it was coming. It was a long time coming – but there was never any doubt. FINALLY! Great start to Day 9 for #TeamCanada!” another wrote.
Tonight the #CNTower will also be lit gold for Mikaël Kingsbury who won Canada's first 2026 Olympic gold medal 🥇 in men’s dual moguls ⛷️ @milanocortina26 @Olympics #MilanoCortina2026 #TeamCanada 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/MRuhga0Krh
— CN Tower / Tour CN (@TourCNTower) February 15, 2026
Kingsbury is deemed the most decorated mogul skiers in history – becoming the first male moguls skier to ever win three Olympic medals by 2022. Today, he is the only male moguls skier with five Olympic medals under his belt, after winning a silver and a gold in Milano Cortina. He also boasts 100 career World Cup victories, never missing the podium at moguls world championships.
Though Canadians did not lose faith, many Canadian sports fans can’t deny the eight gold medal-less days were excruciating.
“That’s Canada’s longest wait for a Winter Olympic gold medal since it went gold-less hosting the 1988 Calgary Games,” one X user wrote.
Canada’s most successful Winter Olympics was in 2010 when Vancouver hosted the games. At the time, Canada set a record for the most gold medals ever won by a single country at a Winter Games – with 14. That year, Canada clinched its first gold medal on the second day of the competition.
In contrast, this year’s lengthy wait has some calling for changes for the Great White North to live up to its name on the world stage.
“Good to see. But Team Canada has to make some adjustments in how they treat these high level sports programs,” one X user wrote. “We should dominate Winter Olympics.”
But with speculations that this year may be the 33-year-old’s last Olympics, his fans are praising his achievements nonetheless.
“How poetic this is, really think about it,” a Reddit user wrote. “He is probably not long off retirement and this is likely his last Olympics. He gets to leave having won something he hasn’t won before and also win the first ever gold in that event. But also Canada’s first gold at this Olympics.”
“Honestly, I’m glad the King got our first gold of the games,” another wrote.
