Since the great years of the Quebec Air Force, Canada has never been in such a good position on the international acrobatic jumping stage.
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From the early 1980s through 1995, Jean-Marc Rozon, Lloyd Langlois and Philippe LaRoche dominated the World Cup circuit.
Team veterans Lewis Irving and Marion Thénault started the season by winning a medal at the inaugural World Cup in Ruka, Finland. Olympians Miha Fontaine, Émile Nadeau and Flavie Aumond are safe bets.
Nicolas Fontaine, the last flag-bearer of the Quebec Air Force and coach of the Canadian Next-Gen team, sees the potential of the new generation but is still a little embarrassed.
“We have great young people, but I don’t want to claim a win for myself. We have to develop them further. They are not relegated to Quebec Air Force levels. The caliber was so high. »
“I remember when I got my first quadruple, I knew I had just achieved something special and that I could join the Quebec Air Force group,” continued the silver medalist at the 1992 Albertville Games.
“I had my best years between 27 and 30, while most of our jumpers are 20 years old. »
If the level of athletes of the new generation has not yet reached that of their predecessors, Fontaine notes in his eyes a very important similarity.
“We recreated a team based on the Quebec Air Force. We have young people who are friends and push each other to be better. »
Compete with the elite
Hoping to compete with the Russians and Chinese, who have prevailed in freestyle jumping, Canada used their opponents’ model to return to the top by hiring Russian coach Dmitry Kavunov.
“We told ourselves that we have to train our athletes the same way the Russians and the Chinese do,” said Fontaine, who retired in 2003. An authoritarian model where athletes were penalized if they didn’t meet targets.
“A few years later we threw everything in the trash. My friend Kavunov told me that we couldn’t replicate the Quebec Air Force in the Canadian system, which brought little money. It was a motivation and I’m happy that we succeeded in our way. »