The 27-year-old from Brighton in Melbourne qualified for finals in 11th place, and put in an impressive first run in finals scoring 80.77 points to advance to the super final medal round in fourth place.
In the super final, Summers increased his score to 81.84 to finish in the silver medal position, 1.87 points behind event winner Benjamin Cavet of France. Rounding out the podium in third place was American Nick Page.
“It feels incredible to be back on the podium again”, Summers commented after the race.
“There was plenty of great skiing out there today so to do it amongst the world’s best is a phenomenal feeling.”
“I changed lines in the course this morning and it really paid off. The new line accentuated my skiing and I felt really comfortable in it, so I was able to consistently put good runs down all day long.
“My coaches and I also decided to stick with my baseline air package instead of upping the degree of difficulty. This meant I could channel the focus to quality and execution, which ultimately translated into better skiing and jumping.”
“I’m really happy with how I’ve started this season. The main thing is that my skiing and jumping feels like it’s returning to the level that it was at prior to injuring myself pre-Olympics.
“I’m really grateful to have such a supportive team around me and together we are all building our capacity to perform well on the global stage.”
The performance marks the third World Cup medal of his career (2 silver, 1 bronze), and first podium since February 2017 and injury suffered before the 2018 Olympic Games in Korea.
In the men’s World Cup standings, Summers sits in second place with 120 points after two competitions, with Horishima leading the way with 140 points while Cavet follows behind Summers in third place on 118 points.
It was a successful day for the Australian program with all athletes reaching the top-16 finals stage. Joining Summers in the final in the men’s event was Matt Graham in 11th, Cooper Woods-Topalovic 15th, James Matheson 16th and in the women’s event Jakara Anthony 8th and Britt Cox 15th.
The action in Idre Fjäll continues tomorrow, with the first dual moguls event of the season scheduled.