Cooper Woods upsets Mikael Kingsbury for Olympic gold in men's moguls in a tiebreaker

LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — A big upset in men's moguls at the Milan Cortina Olympics was decided by a razor-thin margin. Hardly a margin at all, really.

Unheralded Australian freestyle skier Cooper Woods snatched the gold medal away from the sport's most decorated skier, Mikael Kingsbury of Canada, after both scored 83.71 points in Thursday's final. The tiebreaker in moguls is the “turns” score, a mark judges base on how cleanly the skiers moved their way through the bumps.

“It was close, a tiebreak, unfortunately I’m the guy not on the good side of it,” Kingsbury said. ”But I’ve worked very hard for this medal. I’m getting older, I’m 33, I had an injury in September. At some point it felt like it was impossible to be back at that level.”

Turns make up 60% of a moguls score — with the two jumps and a racer's speed counting for 20% each. In this case, turns meant everything. Woods won that element 48.40 to 47.70.

That's how the Olympic gold ended up in the hands of the 25-year-old Woods, who had managed one podium finish in 51 World Cup events, and silver ended up with Kingsbury, who last month became the first moguls skier to amass 100 wins on the sport's top circuit.

“(I’m) speechless, super emotional, very proud. I didn’t have any expectations this morning. I just wanted to go out and ski my runs and stay true to what I know I can achieve,” Woods said. “It’s not often that you get one over Mikael, so I’ll take it when I can.”

This is Kingsbury's third Olympic silver medal, adding to second-place finishes in 2014 and 2022. He broke through for gold in at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Woods wept with joy after as he realized his achievement of beating the moguls GOAT while Aussie fans cheered in the stands, with one holding up an inflatable wallaby.

Ikuma Horishima of Japan repeated as the bronze medalist from four years ago.

On Wednesday, Americans took gold and silver in women's moguls.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

From left, silver medalist Canada's Mikael Kingsbury, gold medalist Australia's Cooper Woods and bronze medalist Japan's Ikuma Horishima take a selfie after the men's freestyle skiing moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Australia's Cooper Woods competes during the men's freestyle skiing moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Australia's Cooper Woods bites his gold medal after the men's freestyle skiing moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Australia's Cooper Woods kisses his gold medal after the men's freestyle skiing moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Australia's Cooper Woods competes during the men's freestyle skiing moguls qualifications at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced questioning from lawmakers Wednesday for the first time since the Trump administration went to war with Iran, a decision that Democrats say has led to a costly conflict of choice waged without congressional approval.

The hearing before the House Armed Services Committee was being held to discuss the administration's 2027 military budget proposal, which would boost defense spending to a historic $1.5 trillion. Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, are expected to stress the need for more drones, missile defense systems and warships.

Democrats are likely to pivot quickly to the ballooning costs of the war, the huge drawdown of critical U.S. munitions and the bombing of a school that killed children. Some lawmakers may also question Trump's dealings with allies and how prepared the military was to shoot down swarms of Iranian drones, some of which penetrated U.S. defenses and killed or wounded American troops.

“You can win a whole lot of little small battles and lose the war, which is why you don’t stumble into the war in the first place," said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the committee. "As I look at it, the strategy seems to be to use as much violence, as much threats, as much coercion as possible to bend the world to our will. I think that is a very dangerous strategy.”

While a fragile ceasefire is now in place, the U.S. and Israel launched the war Feb. 28 without congressional oversight. House and Senate Democrats have failed to pass multiple war power resolutions that would have required President Donald Trump to halt the conflict until Congress authorizes further action.

Republicans have said they will keep faith in Trump’s wartime leadership, for now, citing Iran’s nuclear program, the potential for talks to resume and the high stakes of withdrawal. Still, GOP lawmakers are eager for the conflict to end, and some are eyeing future votes that could become an important test for the president if the war drags on.

Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, opened Wednesday's hearing by focusing on Trump's call to increase military spending. He pointed to recent increases in defense spending by China, Russia and Iran.

“We don’t have enough munitions, ships, aircraft or autonomous systems to ensure dominance against every adversary," Rogers said. “They are spending more of their GDP on defense than we are.”

Iran's closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping corridor for the world's oil, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing and posed problems for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. The U.S. has responded with a Navy blockade of Iranian shipping and further built up its military forces in the region. Three American aircraft carriers are in the Middle East for the first time in more than 20 years.

The countries appear locked in a stalemate, with Trump unlikely to accept Tehran's latest offer to reopen the strait if the U.S. ends the war, lifts its sea blockade and postpones nuclear talks.

Hegseth has avoided public questioning from lawmakers about the war, although he and Caine have held televised Pentagon briefings. Hegseth has mostly taken questions from conservative journalists, while citing Bible passages to castigate mainstream outlets.

The defense secretary will face a much different dynamic Wednesday as well as on Thursday, when he and Caine also are set to face the Senate Armed Services Committee. Lawmakers' questions are likely to go beyond the budget and even the war to Hegseth's ousting of top military leaders.

Besides Navy Secretary John Phelan's departure last week, Hegseth recently ousted the Army’s top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, as well as several other top generals, admirals and defense leaders.

“Tell us why. You know these are important positions. We are in a war posture with Iran,” said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican.

Tillis, who was a crucial vote to confirming the defense secretary, added that Hegseth’s management of the Pentagon had caused him to have second thoughts on his support.

“He may be able to clean it up, but on its face, you don’t go through the number of highly reputable, senior-level officials, admirals and generals,” Tillis added.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican, condemned George's termination during a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week, saying that “some of us are not through asking the questions about that.”

“I think the firing of Gen. George was an extreme disservice to the United States Army,” Scott said. “And I think it was reckless conduct.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Thursday, April 16, 2026 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)