After dreaming about winning a gold medal since he was nine years old, Canadian freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury soaked in every moment as he felt the weight of the medal tug against his neck a day after he secured the top title at the Pyeongchang Olympics on Monday evening.
The 鈥淜ing of the Moguls鈥� has been preparing for that moment since he was a nine-year-old boy watching the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah from his home in Deux-Montagnes, Que. At the time, Kingsbury printed out a photo of the Olympic rings and wrote on it 鈥業 will win鈥� and pasted it above his bed.
鈥淓very time I was going to bed I would see it on the roof over my bed or every time I would wake up I would see it so I dreamed about winning the gold at the Olympics a million times,鈥� he told CTV鈥檚 Your Morning on Tuesday.
After Kingsbury clinched the gold in the men鈥檚 moguls competition with a score of 86.63 for his final run, his older brother made a small edit to the poster still hanging in his bedroom.
鈥淸He] scratched out 鈥業 will鈥� and wrote 鈥榊ou did win,鈥欌�� he said with a smile.
The 25-year-old athlete described how he felt when he was presented with his medal on Tuesday.
鈥淚t feels amazing. I鈥檝e been dreaming about that gold medal all my life and now that I have it and the first time they put it around your neck, the feeling is unbelievable,鈥� he told CTV News Channel.
Kingsbury credited his parents for his success and said he plans to give his gold medal to them.
鈥淭his is our medal,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e a big part of why I won this. Without them there鈥檚 no chance I would have this around my neck so I鈥檓 so grateful that they鈥檝e helped me throughout my career.鈥�
After dominating the World Cup circuit by winning six out of seven titles and with a silver Olympic medal already under his belt from the previous Winter Olympics, Kingsbury said he was ready to go for gold.
鈥淭here was a lot of pressure. I was the favourite to win the event,鈥� he said. 鈥淥nce I went through the first round and the second round and I arrived at the medal round I felt more and more confident.鈥�
鈥淚 trust myself, especially in those big moments where it鈥檚 so easy to become stiff and crisp on top of the course and let the pressure get to your head.鈥�
With files from CTV鈥檚 Your Morning and CTV News Channel
