In her own words, Marion Thénault did not obtain the expected result by finishing 11e at the Freestyle Skiing World Cup in Ruka on Thursday, in Finland. This first outing of the jumping season, however, enabled her to validate one thing: she will be counted among the contenders for the podium each time she sets out on the ramp.
Thénault started the day on a good note by placing third in the qualifying session. However, she could not repeat her exploits in the final where the 12 best competitors were gathered.
For the occasion, the Sherbrookoise performed her favorite jump, a dangerous double with two twists. His start “a little too fast” however came to destroy his chances of remaining in the top-6 and moving to the ultimate stage of the super final. His 55.41 points finally got him eleventh overall.
“I was very stressed for the first competition of the year! I was very happy with my first jump, but it was more difficult after that. I was going a little fast (in the second) and I was not able to adjust myself in the air, which meant that I could not land properly ”, analyzed the one who had climbed twice on the World Cup podium last season, in addition to being named the women’s rookie on the circuit.
Somewhat disappointed with the outcome of her day, the 21-year-old remained on the edge of the track to watch China’s Fanyu Kong (89.53 points) win gold ahead of her compatriot Qi Shao and Kazakhe Zhanbota Aldabergenova, second. tied with 80.04 points. All of this enabled him to make some very useful observations for the rest of the campaign.
“I saw others all day long and it allowed me to achieve important things. I have found that I am really one of the girls who will fight for the podium in every competition. I know I can beat them in the final anytime. But for that, I need even more consistency and that’s what I’m going to work on, ”she concluded.
Also in the women’s event, Flavie Aumond, Naomy Boudreau-Guertin and Justine Ally were respectively classified in the 18e, 25e and 40e steps during qualifying.
On the men’s side, Miha Fontaine recorded the best Canadian result with a 13e up, concluding at just 3.21 points from a pass to the next round. He was followed by his teammate Émile Nadeau, 14e of the day.
Pierre-Olivier Côté and Anthony Noël concluded a tie at the 19e rank. Alexandre Duchaine (22e), Victor Primeau (40e) and Evan Dermott (41e) were the other representatives of the Maple Leaf in action on Thursday.
For his part, Lewis Irving was unable to participate in the event. The athlete from Quebec had to withdraw within 24 hours of the start of the competition due to an injury deemed “minor”, according to his trainer, Jeff Bean.
Activities will continue in Ruka on Friday. The athletes will start first for a second individual event in a different format than Thursday, when their only jump will be counted to determine the ranking. Miha Fontaine, Émile Nadeau and Marion Thénault will then conclude the day by participating in the team competition.