Canadians Kingsbury, Marquis go 1-2 at World Cup moguls event in Japan

Canadian moguls star Mikaël Kingsbury and veteran teammate Philippe Marquis went one-two at a World Cup event Saturday in Tazawako, Japan.

The 26-year-old Kingsbury from Deux-Montanges, Que., became the first skier to include his famous cork 1440 in World Cup competition, scoring 86.70 points in the final to edge Marquis (83.67). American Bradley Wilson (80.47) rounded out the podium with bronze.

"I didn't have a specific strategy in mind today," he told Freestyle Canada, "until the weather turned really nice before the finals. At the last minute, I had decided in training to do a cork 1440, which I hadn't done since last summer.

"I landed it well in training so the plan was to do a run that would move me into the super final."

Kingsbury's World Cup victory was the 55th of his career and sixth win in seven starts this season. He's fresh off winning world titles in both moguls and dual moguls at the ski championships in Park City, Utah two weeks ago.

WATCH | Kingsbury keeps rolling in Japan

This is the first podium result in just over two years for Quebec City's Marquis, who is retiring after this event. The 29-year-old made his return to competition this season after undergoing ACL surgery after the 2018 Olympics.

WATCH | Marquis lands on World Cup podium

"I woke up this morning and told Mikael [Kingsbury] that I was going for the victory today and he told me the same thing," said Marquis. "I skied well all day, my technique was excellent and I improved my speed and jumps in the final and super final, and everything fell into place."

On the women's side, Canada's Justine Dufour-Lapointe finished just off the podium in fourth with a score of 76.60 while her sister, Chloe, was 13th. Chloe did unveil her first cork in competition on the top jump.

France's Perrine Laffont topped the podium with 82.97.

WATCH | Perrine Lafont takes gold

A dual moguls event will be held Sunday in Tazawako.