Acrobatic jumps | Lewis Irving takes silver in Lac-Beauport

(Lac-Beauport) Quebecer Lewis Irving recorded his first podium in more than two years on the acrobatic aerials World Cup circuit on Saturday, after winning the silver medal in Lac-Beauport.

Irving, who is from Quebec, earned a score of 102.50 points for his quintuple twist in the men’s super-final at Le Relais ski resort. He was only beaten by the Chinese Guangpu Qi, with 124 points, and the podium was completed by the American Christopher Lillis, at 85.40.

It was his first podium since winning bronze at the World Cup in Ruka, Finland, in December 2022.

Irving’s bet to attempt a jump with the highest coefficient of difficulty therefore paid off, even if he fell on landing – as was the case for four other participants in the super-final.

“It feels good; we took the risk, we gambled everything for everything by going there with a [saut de] five twists in super final. I tried it, and even though I didn’t make the landing, it proves that it was the right decision,” explained Irving, all smiles.

“I didn’t come here to try to finish second or third, so that’s why I went all in,” he added, visibly relieved.

This result delights the main person concerned, especially after two years marked by numerous injuries.

“Last year it was quite difficult, especially coming back from injuries and everything. I’m very happy to get a first podium so early in the season; It gives me energy for the rest of the year,” he said.

The 29-year-old veteran will therefore have the opportunity to punch his ticket to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympic Games on Sunday, provided he finishes on the podium again.

“As much as others say they don’t think about it [à la qualification olympique]as much as I think about it. I know very well that the ultimate goal is to score a hat trick at the Olympics. One step done, and we’ll go get the second tomorrow [dimanche] “, summarized Irving, bronze medalist in the mixed team event at the 2022 Beijing Games.

The other Quebecer in the super-final, Alexandre Duchaine, finished in fifth place with 78.28 points.

Duchaine coveted a second victory – and a second podium – in his career in the World Cup, after the one acquired last year in Deer Valley, Utah.

For their part, Quebecers Pierre-Olivier Côté and Émile Nadeau stopped in the final and finished seventh and ninth respectively.

Disappointment for Marion Thénault

A little earlier in the morning, Marion Thénault failed in her attempt to come close to her Olympic qualification, as did Irving.

Thénault finished 13^e qualifying on a freezing morning, 0.26 points behind top 12 and a place in the final, putting an abrupt end to his first individual event of the weekend.

A disappointing result, especially after Canadian team coach Jeff Bean had declared the day before that “for Marion, the goal is for her to be on the podium every week”.

” That [l’écart de 0,26 point] It’s even worse now. If at least I had blown my face… I would have been less disappointed. It’s frustrating. I almost never missed this jump in competition. It’s really disappointing,” said Thénault, disappointed, at the bottom of the slopes.

The 24-year-old from Sherbrooke, who was bedridden by a virulent virus earlier this week and is affected by a knee injury suffered in qualifying last week at the World Cup in Lake Placid, Wash. from New York, had to reach the podium in each of the two individual events this weekend to obtain his Olympic qualification. She will still be able to resume later this season.

Thénault obtained 70.50 points for his full-full double backflip, thereby confirming his exclusion from the final at Le Relais ski resort.

“I had a few reasons today for having a bad day — I’ve been sick this week, and I’m injured — but I decided to put all that aside. Unfortunately, I made a bad decision in the air and missed my landing, so it’s my fault,” said the main participant.

Despite the disappointment, Thénault indicated that she plans to bounce back on Sunday during the second individual event scheduled on the program.

“I would really like to get back together tomorrow. I always got on the podium here on the first day, before missing it the next day, so maybe it will be different this year,” said Thénault, who finished third and ninth successively last year at Lac-Beauport. .

Fontaine equals his best result

For his part, Charlie Fontaine took part in his first final this season on the World Cup circuit and it ended in 12^e and last row.

The Quebecer, the only representative of the maple leaf in the final, missed the landing of her Back Lay Full jump and collected only 59.45 points in the final. Despite this, Fontaine said she was very happy with her day at work.

“It was the first time this morning that I had such a big fall in training, and I broke the binding on my ski. […] But I’m happy to have succeeded in my qualifying jump and to have been able to make the final here. It’s truly incredible! “, she assured.

Fontaine, who is 19 years old, thus equaled her best result in an individual event in Lac-Beauport in her career, achieved last year. His best career result remains an 11^e position acquired in Ruka, Finland, in December 2023.

The Australian Laura Peel as well as the Chinese Meiting Chen and Mengtao Xu took the first three steps of the podium, in order.