By james art 
Canadian freestyle skier Lewis Irving reached his first World Cup podium in two years with a men’s silver medal on home soil Saturday.
The 29-year-old from Quebec City scored 102.50 points in the Super Final at Ski Resort Le Relais.
China’s Qi Guangpu captured gold (124.00) and Christopher Lillis of the United States took bronze (85.40).
It was Irving’s first podium since winning bronze at the World Cup event in Ruka, Finland, in December 2022.
Irving attempted a difficult Quintuple-Twist jump and his gamble paid off, though he fell on the landing—as did four other Super Final contestants.
“It feels great. We took a risk, we went all-in with a quintuple turn in a super final,” he said with a big smile. “I tried it and even though I didn’t stick the landing, it shows that it was the right decision.
“I didn’t come here to aim for second or third, so that’s what I did.”
Watch L Irving capture silver on home snow:
Despite falling in the last start, Lewis Irving scored 102.50 points based on the difficulty level of his jump. That was enough to win the silver medal at the World Cup event in Lac-Beauport, Que., which is about a 30-minute drive from his hometown of Quebec City.
The result was especially satisfying for Irving after two years plagued by multiple injuries.
“Last year was pretty tough, especially coming back from injuries and all,” he said. “I’m really happy to get a podium so early in the season. It gives me energy for the rest of the year.”
Irving could punch his ticket to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. on Sunday if he finishes on the podium again.
“While some say they don’t think about [Olympic qualification]I am. I absolutely know the ultimate goal is to get a hat trick at the Olympics,” said Irving, who won bronze in the mixed team event at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
“One step down and I’ll go for the second one tomorrow [Sunday]. “
Alexandre Duchaine, also of Quebec City, finished fifth with 78.28 points.
Earlier, Marion Theno of Sherbrooke, Que., placed 13th in the women’s qualifier, falling just 0.26 points short of a spot in the final.
“That makes it even worse,” she said. “If I would have at least deleted, I would have been less disappointed. It’s disappointing.”
The 24-year-old was bedridden with a severe virus earlier in the week and is dealing with a knee injury sustained during last week’s World Championship qualifier in Lake Placid, New York
Thenault needed to reach the podium in both individual events this weekend to secure his Olympic qualification. She will have more opportunities to qualify later in the season.