Lillis, Elliott at Home in Lac-Beauport
The second stop of the FIS Freestyle Aerials World Cup circuit in Lac-Beauport, Canada, did not disappoint. Chris Lillis and Karenna Elliott went back to back on the podium throughout two days of competition, finishing third and second, respectively.
“This podium has given me a lot of confidence in my jumping capabilities and mental ability to handle competition pressure,” said Elliott. “I’m going to bring this confidence with me heading into Deer Valley, which will allow me to clean up my jumps and make them look more confident overall. Additionally, I will be training for a few days at the Utah Olympic Park before Deer Valley, and I plan on trying a new trick (double-full full) along with perfecting my full double-full, which I’m really excited to do and bring into this next home event.”
On day one, the skies were clear, but the air was frigid, sitting around -4 degrees Fahrenheit. Lillis, Elliott and Winter Vinecki advanced to finals. Vinecki, who has been consistently throwing triples to start the season, just missed out on super finals, finishing seventh. Elliott advanced, but a mistake in the super finals led her to end the day sixth overall. Despite having a major crash on landing in the super finals, Lillis was able to hold on to a podium spot and earned his first podium of the season, finishing in third place behind Qi Guangpu (CHN) and Lewis Irving (CAN). Kaila Kuhn finished 14th, Tasia Tanner 16th, Dani Loeb 17th, Quinn Dehlinger in 20th, Justin Schoenefeld 22nd, Connor Curran in 25th, Kyra Dossa in 26th and Ian Schoenwald in 30th
The weather gave the athletes a new challenge on day two when the temperature warmed, and the sun turned to large, fluffy snowflakes. Kuhn, now throwing triples consistently in competition, advanced to finals alongside Loeb and Elliott. Kuhn finished ninth and Loeb in 12th. Elliott was the sole U.S. athlete to advance to super finals, and her performance did not disappoint. In supers, she threw a back full double full, earning a huge score of 87.42, quickly cementing herself on the podium more than 10 points ahead of the third-place finisher Airleigh Frigo (AUS). At this stop last season, Elliott earned her first super finals appearance, first podium, and first World Cup win, and now, her second career podium comes at the same jump. Dehlinger and Vinecki finished the day 13th, Dossa 14th, Curran 17th, Lillis and Tanner 24th, Schoenefeld 28th and Schoenwald 30th.
“This landing hill is one of the flattest hills on the tour, and flat landing hills cater really well to my jumping style and make landings easy for me,” said Elliott. “I just really love the environment of people in Lac-Beauport. I’ve competed here since my first NorAms in 2018 and have always had fun here because of the fun and uplifting spirits of the volunteers, families of Canadian athletes, and fans/spectators.”
The team is heading into a training block before returning to Park City for the Intermountain Health Freestyle International Feb. 6-8.
RESULTS
Women Day One
Men Day One
Women Day Two
Men Day Two
