Dale Begg-Smith has successfully completed the first step in his comeback from injury, finishing in fourth place in the opening mogul skiing World Cup event of the season in Soumu, then backing up for fifth place in the second event on the Finnish course.
Competing for the first time since January 2009, the Torino Olympics gold medallist earned 24.13 points from the judges in the opening event to finish just 0.06 off the podium and 0.28 points away from a gold medal.
He also demonstrated that he was back near his best by leading the points score for turns, his strongest suit.
AIS/OWI team-mate Ramone Cooper finished in ninth position on 23.48 points, claiming the second top ten result of his career, while Australia's third competitor, Sam Hall, had a disappointing day, finishing in 55th place on 12.39 points.
Begg-Smith started the second day even more impressively, qualifying in second place behind defending World Cup champion Alexandre Bilodeau before taking fifth place in the final with 24.47 points, once again less than 0.5 off the gold
Cooper could not repeat his top ten placing of the opening event, finishing in 26th position on 21.90 points, while Sam Hall was back in 44th place with 17.30 points.
Sweden's Jesper Bjornlund, never higher than fifth in a World Cup before, was the star of the weekend, collecting back-to-back gold medals.
Almost as impressively, US skier Bryon Wilson also made his first podium, taking silver in the opening event then repeating the effort on the second day.
The third and fourth events of the season will be held in Calgary, Canada, from January 8-10.
Competing for the first time since January 2009, the Torino Olympics gold medallist earned 24.13 points from the judges in the opening event to finish just 0.06 off the podium and 0.28 points away from a gold medal.
He also demonstrated that he was back near his best by leading the points score for turns, his strongest suit.
AIS/OWI team-mate Ramone Cooper finished in ninth position on 23.48 points, claiming the second top ten result of his career, while Australia's third competitor, Sam Hall, had a disappointing day, finishing in 55th place on 12.39 points.
Begg-Smith started the second day even more impressively, qualifying in second place behind defending World Cup champion Alexandre Bilodeau before taking fifth place in the final with 24.47 points, once again less than 0.5 off the gold
Cooper could not repeat his top ten placing of the opening event, finishing in 26th position on 21.90 points, while Sam Hall was back in 44th place with 17.30 points.
Sweden's Jesper Bjornlund, never higher than fifth in a World Cup before, was the star of the weekend, collecting back-to-back gold medals.
Almost as impressively, US skier Bryon Wilson also made his first podium, taking silver in the opening event then repeating the effort on the second day.
The third and fourth events of the season will be held in Calgary, Canada, from January 8-10.
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