Reigning Olympic mogul skiing champion Dale Begg-Smith has sustained a knee injury in a World Cup in Deer Valley, Utah, ending his season.

Begg-Smith twisted his right knee going into the top jump on the Salt Lake Olympic course in his head-to-head quarter final round.

Initial examination indicated considerable movement in the joint and a likely ACL injury, but the three time World Cup champion will undergo an MRI in the next few days to determine the extent of the injury.

Begg-Smith went into the 2008/09 season as one of the favourites to not only win his fourth straight World Cup title, but also claim the biennial World Championship crown in Inawashiro, Japan at the end of February.

The 23-year-old AIS skier had finished in fifth place in the qualifying round in Deer Valley, then won through in his first round of the finals.

Earlier in the weekend he had finished in sixth place in the single moguls World Cup competition at the same venue.

He was due to compete in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic test event in Cypress Mountain next weekend.