After finishing in fourth and fifth position in Finland before the holidays, Marion Thénault wants to climb on the podium at the Freestyle Jumping World Cup presented on Wednesday at the Le Relais Ski Center.
The 21-year-old Sherbrooke native may have already fulfilled the criteria to obtain her ticket for the Beijing Olympics, that’s not what will prevent her from giving everything at the first Freestyle Jumping World Cup presented in the new installations of the Center Acrobatique Yves LaRoche.
“Every time I compete I want a podium. At each World Cup, my goal is to stand on the podium, ”insisted Thénault, in a virtual interview with The Canadian Press.
“I still haven’t got a podium this season. So I would love that very much, she added. Before the Olympics and at home, that would be ‘fun’. I’m still putting a lot of pressure on myself for this World Cup. “
Thénault, who made the transition from gymnastics to freestyle jumping at the age of 17, made his breakthrough on the World Cup circuit last winter. She notably concluded her campaign with a victory in March in Almaty, Kazakhstan, after claiming a first podium in January in Moscow, Russia.
She finished the season third overall and was voted Rookie of the Year on the circuit.
“So she started the new season with high expectations, both from herself and from the outside, which is good,” said Canadian coach Jeff Bean. We don’t want to hide it from this pressure. She’s going to the Olympics, it’s going to be stressful. It’s normal. It’s correct. We want her to be able to perform under this stress. “
“So I’m happy that there is this competition here, which is a little more intense because it’s home. Our goal here, for her, is a podium. “
The event at the Relais will be smaller than anticipated. No spectators will be admitted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although relatives of some athletes will be able to attend the competition since they are part of the group of volunteers.
It is also because of the pandemic and the risk of being infected with the coronavirus that Thénault is reluctant to travel to the United States next week for the last World Cup before the Olympics, scheduled for January 12 in Deer Valley, in Utah.
“It’s one of my big stresses at the moment. I do not want to catch COVID, because if you test positive, it is certain that you do not go to the Games, underlined Thénault. We have a month trying not to catch it and it’s difficult because I too have to go on living and go to the grocery store! “
Thénault believes, however, that Thomas Bach will declare the Beijing Olympics open as scheduled on February 4, despite the current global situation.
New jumps for boys
If Thénault has big ambitions for the competition at Lac-Beauport on Wednesday, it would be a little more surprising to see a member of the Canadian men’s team on the podium.
Miha Fontaine had the Canadian team’s best result this season with an eighth place finish in Ruka, Finland, in December.
Fontaine, who is the son of the former freestyle jump world champion Nicolas Fontaine, is however part of a new generation of freestyle jumpers.
“We are really in a good position with our young team. Another year and we’ll be competitive, Bean noted. My goal is to have four guys and four girls at the 2026 Games. ”
Fontaine, 18, Émile Nadeau, 17, and Alexandre Duchaine, 17, have notably started performing perilous triples in training and should try them in individual competition for the first time on Wednesday.
“It increases the level of difficulty and it gives us more chances to be in the competitors fighting for a place in the super final,” said Fontaine. And that helps for Olympic qualification. “
Fontaine and his compatriots are aiming for a top-8, which would help them secure their ticket to the Beijing Olympics.
“It’s a ‘game-changer’ because to win a World Cup you need about 127 to 129 points,” Bean said of the perilous triples his colts will be attempting. With the perilous doubles, the maximum was 110 or 112 points. There, they will make jumps that can allow them to get 118 to 120 points. “
Canadians also hope to take advantage of a small advantage that comes from being in a familiar environment. In particular, they had the opportunity to train on the ramps of the Relais during the holiday season, before the arrival of most of the foreign athletes.
“The biggest adaptation is related to the angle of the landing,” said Nadeau. Some sites are steeper, others are flatter. We’re only talking about a few degrees, but that makes all the difference between putting your hands on the ground or not. “
In all, 12 Canadian athletes will be in action on Wednesday. The crème de la crème of acrobatic jumping will be present, except for the Russian and Belarusian teams, who have preferred to put aside their visit to Canada because of the pandemic.