Quebecer Marion Thénault no longer believed she could make it to the final after missing the landing during her qualifying jump.
Thénault finally slipped to the next stage and took full advantage of this second chance, finally winning the silver medal at the Freestyle Jumping World Cup presented on Wednesday at the Le Relais ski center.
The Sherbrooke native managed a dangerous double back with three spins in the super final, which earned her a score of 93.41. The ex-gymnast was only beaten by China’s Mengtao Xu, who received a score of 103.92. The podium was completed by another Chinese jumper, Fanyu Kong (92.70).
On the men’s side, the Chinese Jiaxu Sun won with a score of 120.81, ahead of his compatriot Longxiao Yang (119.91) and the Swiss Nicolas Gygax (119.91). Yang had the advantage over his rival in the tiebreaker with a 13.70 posture score, compared to 12.50 for Gygax.
This is Thénault’s third top-five appearance this season, and his third career podium on the World Cup circuit. The 21-year-old notably triumphed in Almaty, Kazakhstan on March 13, 2021.
“It was a very emotional day,” admitted Thénault. I had problems in qualifying and I was lucky to be able to make the final. I took it as a second chance, and wanted to give everything to make it through to the end. “
“I wanted a podium so badly. I’m really happy, ”she added.
The compatriots of Thénault, Flavie Aumond, of Lac-Beauport, Naomy Boudreau-Guertin, of Boischatel, and Justine Ally, of Lac-Supérieur, followed in the 6e, 11e and 12e rungs, respectively.
Thénault could hardly believe that she had won the money in front of some of her relatives, who were volunteers for the event. No spectators were admitted due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thénault’s day had started badly: the athlete lost his balance on landing after attempting a dangerous double back with two spins in qualifying. She had contented herself with a score of 69.30 and had to wait until the end of this stage to find out if she would be one of the 12 skiers reaching the final.
She finally got her ticket to the final when the last skier to start, Kazakhe Anhelina Brykina, received a score of 68.64m which placed her at 13e rank, just behind Thénault and his 69.30 points.
“I was sure it was over. It was my trainer who told me to stay there and that we didn’t know yet. I looked at him with a look like “are you serious?” told Thénault. Finally, I went to 12e square. I was able to go home and do a complete “reset”. I had a second chance and wanted to get the most out of it. “
In the final, Thénault took the sixth and last place giving access to the super final. Even if she admits not having been perfect in the super final, her jump nevertheless allowed her to climb to the second step of the podium.
Thénault admitted that she was a little more stressed than usual before performing for the first time in front of her relatives in the World Cup. She believes, however, that the experience will be beneficial in anticipation of the Beijing Olympics, which will be held next month.
“I would say that jumping at home was really a stress that I was not used to. Obviously, I wanted a podium, but I had a lot of encouragement. Everyone also wanted me to win. To have it all so close to me was really unusual. I was not able to handle the pressure well. “
“That’s what Jeff (Bean, his trainer) said. He doesn’t want to protect me from that pressure, because it’s a pressure that I’m going to live all the time. I have to get used to it and do the best I can, ”continued Thénault.
Fontaine and Nadeau are disappointed
On the men’s side, Victor Primeau, of Lac-Beauport, and Alexandre Duchaine, of Quebec, were the only ones to qualify for the final. They finished respectively 11e and 12e.
Pierre-Olivier Côté and Miha Fontaine, both of Lac-Beauport, Duchaine and Émile Nadeau, of Prévost, attempted triple somersaults for the first time in individual competition.
Thanks to a well executed triple somersault with three twists, Duchaine finished fifth in qualifying. However, he missed the maneuver in the final.
“I’m really happy to have landed my first treble in qualifying,” said Duchaine. I made a little mistake at the end [en finale], but I’m super happy. “
Côté finished in 13e position in qualifying, almost nine points from 12e rank and a place in the final. Fontaine and Nadeau respectively took the 17e and 30e ranks and were particularly disappointed with their result, as they fight for an Olympic qualification.
“I missed my start and I was a little too far forward. My knees bent in the jump, and it took me deeper into the landing zone, ”said Nadeau, 17.
“It’s harder to adjust in the air, and that’s why I landed a little further back and missed my landing,” he added.
Fontaine, Nadeau and the other jumpers will have the opportunity to recover next week at the World Cup presented in Deer Valley, Utah.
“There will be a few more [de pression], but I focus on each jump and take it one day at a time, ”said Fontaine, who turned 18.e birthday Monday.
Fontaine and Nadeau hope to finish in the top eight to improve their chances of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.
Nicolas Martineau, of Mirabel, finished in 14e position. Anthony Noël of Quebec City concluded the competition in 20e position.