Thenault and Qi triumph under the lights in Ruka

The FIS Freestyle 2023/24 World Cup season’s opening weekend concluded on Sunday afternoon with a thrilling aerials competition at the Freestyle Opening Ruka (FIN). Under the illuminating lights of Ruka, Canada’s Marion Thenault and Qi Guangpu from China emerged victorious, clinching the first wins of the new aerials season.

Despite feeling under the weather at the day’s start, Marion Thenault showed remarkable resilience and skill. The 23-year-old, who finished third overall in the previous World Cup season, led from the qualifications, impressing with her execution right through to the super final.

There, she dazzled the most, performing a perfect Full double Full to commence the 2023/24 season triumphantly. Scoring 99.05 points, over a 10-point lead from her closest competitor, Thenault secured her third World Cup win and the prestigious yellow World Cup leader bib.

Danielle Scott (AUS), last year’s World Cup champion, claimed second place. Hoping for a third consecutive win in Ruka, Scott’s double Full-Full lacked in form and landing, leaving her in second place by day’s end.

Zhanbota Aldabergenova (KAZ) completed the women’s podium in third place, earning 77.43 points for her Lay-Full.

Although missing the podium, noteworthy performances came from Winter Winecki (USA) and Laura Peel (AUS), the only athletes in the women’s field executing triple flips. Peel has been a consistent innovator, and for Winecki, it marked her competition debut with such difficulty. However, both athletes’ attempts suffered in landing and form execution, indicating the high technical difficulty of aerials jumps does not always ensure top results. Nonetheless, their efforts signal an exciting start to the women’s campaign.

In the men’s event, Qi Guangpu (CHN) dominated with his final Full double Full-Full, securing victory at the season’s opening World Cup in Ruka. Competing for the first time since his gold medal win at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Qi scored an impressive 119.91 points, marking his 15th World Cup victory.

Pirmin Werner closely followed in second place. The last athlete of the day in the finals, Werner ambitiously executed a five twisting triple flip with his double Full-Full double Full. Despite an impressive 119.00 points, he narrowly missed surpassing Qi’s score.

Dmytro Kotovskyi took third place with his challenging Full triple Full-Full, scoring 117.00 points.

With this weekend’s captivating action, the aerials tour now heads to Changchun (CHN) for a double event, including aerials mixed team competitions scheduled for December 16-17.

Quick links:

• Ruka World Cup FIS data page (start lists, results, etc.)
• Results: MEN & WOMEN
• 2023/24 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup calendar
• Photos: AERIALS
• Videos