Kingsbury eyes record run at 2025 World Championships

Mar 17, 2025·Freestyle

Switzerland’s St. Moritz is no stranger to world-class skiing, having played host to some of the most important events for almost a century, going back to the 1928 Olympic Winter Games.

The world’s best will once again descend on its picturesque slopes from 17-30 March, when the 2025 FIS Freestyle, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships take place.

With the action coming swiftly after the World Cup season’s final stop in Livigno, which also served as the Olympic test event, one can be sure athletes are primed to peak.

In Moguls, all eyes will no doubt be on the discipline’s greatest of all time.

Mikael Kingsbury (CAN) is on a “triple-double” run at the World Championships, having been crowned world champion in Moguls and Dual Moguls at the last three editions.

Extending that incredible record to a “quadruple-double” seems unfathomable, but few would count against the Canadian great. Case in point: Kingsbury has never missed a podium at the World Championships since the 2011 event.

There is more proof, given the season he has just had on the World Cup circuit. The 32-year-old is fresh off claiming a hat-trick of Crystal Globes, with nine wins and 13 podiums on the circuit, and is still looking hungry for more honours on the biggest stages.

To do that, he will have to keep a few familiar rivals at bay. 2017 world champion Ikuma Horishima (JPN), for one thing, is consistently producing sublime Cork 1440s on his runs to notch high scores.

On the women’s front, much of the attention will be on the rivalry between Perrine Laffont (FRA) and Jaelin Kauf (USA).

The former is an undisputed great and two-time defending champion, while the other is the newly crowned triple champion of the 2025 World Cup season.

There could also be a dark horse in the equation.

Jakara Anthony (AUS), who has missed almost all of the World Cup season after breaking her collarbone during training at Idre Fjäll, has been named in Australia’s World Championships squad. However, it remains to be seen if the 2022 Olympic champion will indeed compete in Switzerland.

In Aerials, there is pressure on Noé Roth (SUI) to defend his title, but the 24-year-old would have taken the short trip from Livigno full of confidence.

Not only did he cap off the World Cup season with his first win on circuit in over two years, he also finished level on points on top of the overall standings, taking second only due to eventual champion Qi Guangpu (CHN) having more wins over the season.

Qi, the 2013 and 2015 world champion and 2017 silver medallist, will no doubt be a top contender hoping to return to the top of the podium.

Comparatively, the women’s event is probably a harder one to call. Laura Peel (AUS) is in red-hot form, fresh off her Crystal Globe-winning season. But the Australian is constantly being pushed by another familiar face on the circuit: Xu Mengtao (CHN).

It is also noteworthy that Xu is a big-time competitor who has enjoyed incredible success at the World Championships. The 2013 world champion has been a fixture on every podium from 2009 to 2019, before going on to win the 2022 Olympic title at home in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Danielle Scott (AUS) and Chen Meiting (CHN) have also proven to be worthy challengers.

Moguls competition takes place on 18-19 March, with qualifications taking place on Tuesday before finals on Wednesday. On 18 March, Women’s Qualifications will start at 09:45 local time, before Men’s Qualifications at 13:00. The next day, finals begin at 11:30.

For Dual Moguls on 21 March, preliminary rounds start at 11:45, before finals at 14:30.

The Aerials Mixed Team event will take place on 27 March, starting from 11:00.

Individual Aerials will fall on 29 March. Women’s Qualifications start at 10:45, before the Men’s Qualifications at 14:15. Finals will take place on 30 March, starting from 14:00.