Vancouver, February 3, 2023 – Quebec’s Marion Thénault (Sherbrooke, QC) pulled out all the stops in Friday’s final at the Aerials World Cup in Deer Valley, Utah. Thénault, who earned 97.99 points in the first final—the highest score of her World Cup career—matched her own record just a few moments later to secure the second-place spot on the podium.
With Australia’s Danielle Scott sitting comfortably in first place with 115.20 points, the 22-year-old Canadian was the last racer to start in the super final. She landed a back full double full, her most difficult trick, to finish the day with a score of 97.99 once again.
“I am very, very proud of what I accomplished tonight. It was definitely one of the best performances of my career. The final went really well. I knew it was technically impossible to beat Danielle Scott’s score, but I still wanted to go all out, and it got me the silver medal,” explained Thénault, just prior to the medal ceremony.
Scott and Thénault were accompanied on the podium by Fanyu Kong of China (94.11).
Flavie Aumond (Lac-Beauport, QC) also competed in the first final, where she finished ninth with 78.43 points.
On the men’s side, Alexandre Duchaine and Anthony Noël, both of Quebec City, were the only Canadians to advance to the first final. Duchaine (96.90) finished seventh, while Noël (93.10) finished tenth.
In the men’s super final, Dmytro Kotovskyi of Ukraine landed a five-twist trick, earning an impressive 138.32 points and the gold medal. Tianma Li (119.47) and Shuo Chen (110.16), both of China, finished second and third, respectively.
Earlier in the day, Victor Primeau (Lac-Beauport, QC) finished 15th, while Nicolas Martineau (Mirabel, QC), Pierre-Olivier Côté (Lac-Beauport, QC) and Miha Fontaine (Lac-Beauport, QC) finished 25th, 28th and 30th.
Karker and Mackey still in peak form
Rachael Karker (Erin, ON) and Brendan Mackay (Calgary, AB) held their own despite tough conditions at the Halfpipe World Cup at Mammoth Mountain, California, on Friday. Both Canadians earned spots on the podium, respectively winning bronze and silver medals.
Several times during the competition, the athletes were forced to wait several minutes for the wind to die down before they could race.
Karker was the first of the two to make her mark. She received a score of 91.75 on her second run, which was good for provisional second place. However, in the final moments of the competition, she was edged out by Zoe Atkin of Great Britain and finished third.
“It’s really nice to be back on the podium. The conditions were challenging, and I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. I played it safe and in the end, it paid off,” noted the Canadian, who had come out of Wednesday’s qualifiers in first place.
Kexin Zhang of China won gold thanks to her score of 93.50 on her second run in the halfpipe.
In the same final, Amy Fraser (Calgary, AB) and Dillan Glennie (Courtenay, BC) finished fourth and sixth.
Karker has now stood on the World Cup podium twelve times in a row. Early in the season, she won gold at Copper Mountain. That was followed by two silver medals in Calgary.
“It’s crazy how the podiums can add up so quickly. I’m really proud to be skiing with this level of confidence for so long. I’m really happy!” added Karker, who also won the first Cristal Globe of her career, just ahead of her teammate Amy Fraser.
Next up for a medal was Brendan Mackay. After the first round, the skier from Calgary held the fourth-place spot. He then moved up to third with 90.25 points.
In the last moments of the final, Mackay earned 93.00 points to clinch the silver medal. He finished just one point behind gold medallist Birk Irving of the USA, who dedicated his victory to his former teammate Kyle Smaine, who died in an avalanche while skiing in Japan earlier this week.
David Wise of the USA completed the podium, with 91.25 points.
“I’m really glad to have finished the day with the silver medal. The conditions were really difficult. We didn’t even know if the final would take place. Once I was on the course, I felt great and wanted to improve with each run. It’s very rewarding to have ended up on the podium,” said Mackay.
Mackay holds second place in the World Cup standings, just behind today’s winner, Birk Irving.
Dylan Marineau (Calgary, AB) came out of the final in fifth place. Andrew Longino (Calgary, AB) and Simon D’Artois (Whistler, BC) finished seventh and eighth.
Evan Marineau (Calgary, AB) and Adam Fiselier (Calgary, AB) did not advance past the qualification rounds earlier this week. They finished 25th and 28th.
