Lewis Irving

Biography

Lewis Irving helped make history at Beijing 2022. In his second Olympic appearance, he won bronze in the inaugural Olympic mixed team aerials event alongside Marion Thénault and Miha Fontaine. It was Canada’s first Olympic medal in any aerials event in 20 years.

With a father who was formerly a member of the Canadian Paralympic Ski Team, it should be no surprise that Irving is also making a name for himself on snow. In 2014-15 he finished first overall in the Nor-Am Cup standings for aerials. He made his World Cup debut that same season, competing in just one event, but his success led to him being named Freestyle Canada’s Male Rookie of the Year. 

The next season he recorded a then-career-best World Cup result, placing fourth in Deer Valley in February 2016. That helped earn Irving FIS Aerials Rookie of the Year honours. He enjoyed another breakthrough at the 2017-18 World Cup season-opener in Secret Garden, China when he finished third for his first career World Cup podium. That helped him break into the top-10 in the overall World Cup aerials standings for the season. Irving made his Olympic debut at PyeongChang 2018.  

That summer, Irving had surgery on his hip and the ensuing nine months of rehab meant he missed the entire 2018-19 season. He returned to the World Cup circuit for 2019-20 and towards the end of the season earned two podium finishes as he finished second in Raubichi, Belarus in February and third in Krasnoyarsk, Russia in March. He ended up ranked a career-best fifth overall in the World Cup aerials standings. 

During the 2020-21 season, Irving earned three more World Cup podiums, all bronze medals. He also competed at his first FIS World Championships. Irving did not compete during the 2021-22 World Cup season after tearing his MCL in an early season crash. 

A Little More About Lewis

Getting into the Sport: Trained in both trampoline and alpine skiing before discovering aerials at the Centre Acrobatique Yves Laroche in Lac-Beauport, Quebec when he was 11… His first day there, he saw Steve Omischl do six twists and immediately knew he wanted to try that… Stayed with trampoline until he quit at age 14 and was recruited by an aerials coach who immediately brought him back to Lac-Beauport to train with national team athletes… Learned trampoline at a circus school which he represented in regional competitions… Outside Interests: Enjoys spending the off-season sitting around the pool and having BBQs… Coaches aerials… Odds and Ends: Always eats sweettarts candy at competitions… Favourite motto: “Go big or go home!”