Marion Thenault wins her first World Cup aerials gold medal

Marion Thenault (Facebook)

Marion Thenault of Sherbrooke, Quebec won her first World Cup women’s aerials gold medal of her career on Saturday.  The 20-year-old placed first in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and was one of two Canadians to reach the podium in Almaty, as Lewis Irving of Quebec City, Quebec won the bronze medal in the men’s aerials competition.

Thenault had a score of 89.88 points. Liubov Nikitina of Russia won the silver medal with 86.36 points. Zhanbota Aldabergenova of Kazakhstan won the bronze medal with 84.99 points. Thenault reached the podium by 11.58 points over fourth-place finisher Hanna Huskova of Belarus, who had a score of 78.3 points.

Irving had a score of 113.28 points. Pirmin Werner of Switzerland won the gold medal with 121.72 points. Nicolas Gygax of Switzerland won the silver medal with 119.46 points. Irving reached the podium by 3.33 points over fourth-place finisher Stanislav Nikitin of Russia, who had 109.95 points.

This was the final World Cup aerials competition for both men and women this season. It was the second medal of the season for Thenault and for her career. She previously won bronze in Moscow on January 23. Irving meanwhile has now won six World Cup medals, and the bronze medal in Almaty was his third bronze medal this season. He was previously third in Yaroslavl, Russia on January 17, and in Minsk, Belarus on January 30.

Irving finished sixth in the 2020-21 World Cup men’s aerials standings this year with 238 points. Maxim Burov of Russia was the World Cup men’s aerials champion with 526 points. Thenault meanwhile finished third in the 2020-21 World Cup women’s aerials standings with 312 points. Laura Peel of Australia was the World Cup women’s aerials champion with 450 points. The medals for Thenault and Irving will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. 

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