World Cup aerials: Émile Nadeau on the podium at Lac-Beauport

Canadian freestyle skier Émile Nadeau took third place on the podium at the Freestyle Skiing World Cup in Lac-Beauport, Quebec, to win his first individual medal of the season.

Nadeau scored 95.98 to earn the bronze medal, just ahead of China’s Xinpeng Li (95.02). Two other Chinese, Xindi Wang (105.88) and Guangpu Qi (110.56), rounded out the podium, finishing with silver and gold respectively.

Nadeau had the luxury of jumping last in the super final after flying through the qualifications and the first final that determined the six finalists. Three of the five competitors who had done it before him missed their landings, so victory was within reach for the Quebec skier, and even more so the podium.

So he went for a cautious jump with a lower difficulty quotient than his opponents, but this strategy almost worked against him after losing a few points on landing. It was ultimately enough for third place.

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Nadeau had the same result at this same World Cup last year. Miha Fontaine finished 10th and Alexandre Duchaine 11th. Both were eliminated in the first final.

On the women’s side, Marion Thénault missed her landing in the super final to finish in 6th place.

Irving takes home silver

On Saturday, Lewis Irving reserved his best performance of the season in front of family and friends in his hometown by reaching the podium of the World Cup in Lac-Beauport, winning Silver.

His best result in nearly four years, Irving’s performance marked four Canadian skiers placing in the top 10 on Saturday, with Irving, Alexandre Duchaine (5th), Émile Nadeau (7th) and Pierre-Olivier Côté (9th) all reaching the final.

Irving was one of two skiers to surpass 100 points in the final, finishing with a score of 102.5 points even despite a fall. Alexandre Duchaine finished just 7.12 points off the podium in fifth place, his best result since winning gold at Deer Valley in February. Cote also had his best result of the season.