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[JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Skier Ikuma Horishima Claims Men's Moguls Season Title
For years, Ikuma Horishima has had consistent success in men's moguls competitions, placing in the top five in World Cup standings for six straight seasons.
Read the full story on SportsLook - [JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Skier Ikuma Horishima Claims Men's Moguls Season Title
Throughout this decade, Ikuma Horishima has demonstrated that he's one of the world's top freestyle skiers, particularly in men's moguls.
Horishima has won 14 FIS World Cup freestyle skiing moguls events since 2020, including four in 2024.
The Gifu Prefecture native's overall consistency as a moguls competitor produced the desired result on Friday, March 8 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Although the 26-year-old finished runner-up to Canada's Mikael Kingsbury in a World Cup event in the Central Asian city, he clinched the season title in the final competition of the season.
Horishima, the bronze medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, finished the 2024 moguls season with 610 points. He received 83.48 points in the final event.
Kingsbury, the Olympic silver medalist in the Chinese capital, amassed 84.89 points on Friday for his winning effort in Almaty. But it wasn't enough to overtake Horishima. Kingsbury closed out the season with 600 total points.
A Career Milestone for Ikuma Horishima
Horishima was thrilled with the outcome.
"To be able to finally get my hands on the crystal globe after my 100th World Cup competition feels incredibly significant," Horshima told reporters in Almaty, Kyodo News reported. "It has been an extremely good day."
What's more, Horishima became the first Japanese man to collect the moguls season title.
The 2024 World Cup freestyle skiing season isn't over yet.
Horishima is in contention for a podium finish in the overall moguls title, a separate category that combines moguls and dual moguls. In dual moguls, two skiers compete at the same time. And two more dual moguls events will be contested before the season wraps up.
Based on total points, Kingsbury is in first place, followed by Horishima.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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