The Canadian freestyle ski jumping roster of Marion Thénault, Miha Fontaine and Émile Nadeau broke the 300-point mark for the first time on Saturday at the World Cup team competition in Ruka, Finland. The feat may not have been enough to get on the podium, but the trio, fifth on the day, show a lot of enthusiasm for the rest of the season.
After seeing his two teammates succeed in their respective jumps, Émile Nadeau obtained the best score of his career to propel his team towards a record harvest of 303.27 points.
“I was confident when I saw that my teammates had done their jumps and I really wanted to do a good jump under pressure. I knew I had to go for it all, so I picked up some speed and it went really well on the landing. It really gives confidence for the future, ”said the man who obtained 108.81 points for his maneuver.
Although they delivered a performance that lived up to their expectations, the Canadiens were unable to squeeze through the top-4 who then took part in the super final. But for Marion, Thénault, it is only a matter of time before things materialize and Canada finds itself more often a finalist in this event.
“This is the first time that we have all landed our jumps in the team competition and we see that there is not a lot missing,” she said with enthusiasm. The atmosphere is always fun with the guys and we’re improving. We are really making our mark and we are putting pressure on the other teams. ”
As was the case last week, the Chinese once again dominated the competition for gold. They concluded with nearly 40 points of priority over the Americans, silver medalists. The Ukrainians ended the day with a bronze medal.
Another first for Thénault
PHOTO PAVEL MIKHEYEV, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Marion Thénault
Earlier today, the athletes set off for a second individual event in as many days. Marion Thénault took the opportunity to execute her perilous double with three spins, a jump that earned her fourth place and a personal best of 94.28 points.
“I would say I did all I could! This is the first time that I landed this jump in competition and, in addition, it gives me the best score of my career, so it’s only positive, ”analyzed the Sherbrookoise.
The gold medal finally went to the Australian Danielle Scott (102.93 points) who finished ahead of her compatriot Laura Peel (99.37 points) and the Chinese Mengtao Xu (98.28 points).
“The other competitors did amazing jumps and they have a higher degree of difficulty, so there’s not much I can do about it. Of course, I’m disappointed not to be on the podium with this score, but I’m really happy with my day. There is still work to be done, but I am heading in the right direction, ”concluded Thénault.
Flavie Aumond (14e), Naomy Boudreau-Guertin (27e) and Justine Ally (29e) were the other Canadian women in action in the women’s competition.
Among men, Alexandre Duchaine obtained the best result in the maple leaf with an 18e square. Pierre-Olivier Côté (25e), Émilie Nadeau (26e), Victor Primeau (28e), Miha Fontaine (37e), Nicolas Martineau (42e) and Anthony Noël (43e) also took part in the event won by the Russian Maxim Burov.
The latter thus signed his fourth individual victory in as many outings this season. The Swiss Noe Roth and Pirmin Werner completed the podium.
The Canadian aerials team will remain in Ruka, where they will train until December 20. She will then return home in anticipation of a short break which will be followed by the next World Cup scheduled at Le Relais Ski Center on January 5.