Australia’s six member aerial skiing squad were all smiles after their World Cup performances at Val Saint Come, Canada, today when Olympic Champion Lydia Lassila made it two podiums from as many starts and AIS/ VIS team mate Laura Peel qualified for her first super-final of the season.
To add more gloss to the day, Australian aerial skiers dominated the top five places with Dani Scott achieving a personal best fifth place and narrowly missing the super final.
The results in Quebec were part of Australia’s best 24 hours in World Cup history, highlighted by two wins and three other podium finishes across three skiing and snowboarding disciplines.
Lassila described her result as “brilliant” despite the fact that she was “out jumped” by China’s Mengtao Xu.
The Australian hastens to add that she is yet to reintroduce triple somersaults into her competition regime, electing so far to stick to multiple twisting double somersaults with high executions, at this phase of her comeback.
However, she plans to reinstate triples when she competes at Lake Placid, USA, on January 20.
“Our plan is to do the triples this week which is exciting,” she said.
“I’m hoping they will go well although I’m not sure what to expect in terms of results and lasting a whole competition doing them.
“I’ve taken it one step at a time but we’re ready now.
“I have performed really well and consistently in the two events, executed the tricks exactly how I wanted so I’m pleased with that as a platform and now I can keep building.”
Peel, who finished last year with a ranking of four in the world, recaptured close to her best form with an excellent fourth place today executing both double somersaults almost perfectly.
Fifth place Scott, again had very high points on her full full, and has moved to third on the World Cup rankings behind Lassila and series leader Mengtao, while Peel has climbed up into sixth.
Renee McElduff also qualified for finals competition in 12th with a well executed lay full and Samantha Wells narrowly missed her full full landing ending up in 14th place.
The revelation of the World Cup second round in Quebec was the fourth placed 28-year-old David Morris, who had a World Cup career best of 6th going into the event.
With a podium finish well within sight after the early rounds, Morris made it through to the four man super-final with eventual winner Dmitri Dashinski from Belarus, Canadian Travis Gerrits and China’s Hang Zhou.
Performing a full-full-full, a jump he has completed almost perfectly at least 10 times in the last week, the Australian failed to hit his landing, forcing Morris forward into the snow.
The landing mishap, after the rest of the trick went perfectly, cost him a chance to stand on a World Cup podium for the first time in his career.
To add more gloss to the day, Australian aerial skiers dominated the top five places with Dani Scott achieving a personal best fifth place and narrowly missing the super final.
The results in Quebec were part of Australia’s best 24 hours in World Cup history, highlighted by two wins and three other podium finishes across three skiing and snowboarding disciplines.
Lassila described her result as “brilliant” despite the fact that she was “out jumped” by China’s Mengtao Xu.
The Australian hastens to add that she is yet to reintroduce triple somersaults into her competition regime, electing so far to stick to multiple twisting double somersaults with high executions, at this phase of her comeback.
However, she plans to reinstate triples when she competes at Lake Placid, USA, on January 20.
“Our plan is to do the triples this week which is exciting,” she said.
“I’m hoping they will go well although I’m not sure what to expect in terms of results and lasting a whole competition doing them.
“I’ve taken it one step at a time but we’re ready now.
“I have performed really well and consistently in the two events, executed the tricks exactly how I wanted so I’m pleased with that as a platform and now I can keep building.”
Peel, who finished last year with a ranking of four in the world, recaptured close to her best form with an excellent fourth place today executing both double somersaults almost perfectly.
Fifth place Scott, again had very high points on her full full, and has moved to third on the World Cup rankings behind Lassila and series leader Mengtao, while Peel has climbed up into sixth.
Renee McElduff also qualified for finals competition in 12th with a well executed lay full and Samantha Wells narrowly missed her full full landing ending up in 14th place.
The revelation of the World Cup second round in Quebec was the fourth placed 28-year-old David Morris, who had a World Cup career best of 6th going into the event.
With a podium finish well within sight after the early rounds, Morris made it through to the four man super-final with eventual winner Dmitri Dashinski from Belarus, Canadian Travis Gerrits and China’s Hang Zhou.
Performing a full-full-full, a jump he has completed almost perfectly at least 10 times in the last week, the Australian failed to hit his landing, forcing Morris forward into the snow.
The landing mishap, after the rest of the trick went perfectly, cost him a chance to stand on a World Cup podium for the first time in his career.
Morris admits to some disappointment from the day but overall he is thrilled to record his best ever World Cup result.
“I am extremely pleased with today,” Morris said.
“I am much more confident with my tricks now that I have been doing them for so long. I have done them for two or three years and now they are becoming a habit rather than something I have to think about.
“My last jump today is my favourite trick and I have been very consistent with it just about every time. It was a nice jump and when I landed on my feet, my skis got caught in some sticky snow and I rolled over forward and that was the end of it.
“I was a little bit devastated because a podium finish was right there in my grasp.
“I think I would have finished at least third.”
Morris is competing in his first World Cup season in two years, having stood out of all competition 12 months ago.
“It was a good break and it was the right decision to make at the time. I have come back more fresh than I ever was,” he said.
“I did a little bit of diving, gymnastics and trampolining just so I didn’t lose everything.”
Morris admits that retirement entered his mind for a short while, at the time he finished his Bachelor of Applied Science, but then his urge to compete again quickly took over.
“Today was the first time I made it through to the super-final and top four so now my expectations of myself are higher,” he said.
“I am extremely pleased with today,” Morris said.
“I am much more confident with my tricks now that I have been doing them for so long. I have done them for two or three years and now they are becoming a habit rather than something I have to think about.
“My last jump today is my favourite trick and I have been very consistent with it just about every time. It was a nice jump and when I landed on my feet, my skis got caught in some sticky snow and I rolled over forward and that was the end of it.
“I was a little bit devastated because a podium finish was right there in my grasp.
“I think I would have finished at least third.”
Morris is competing in his first World Cup season in two years, having stood out of all competition 12 months ago.
“It was a good break and it was the right decision to make at the time. I have come back more fresh than I ever was,” he said.
“I did a little bit of diving, gymnastics and trampolining just so I didn’t lose everything.”
Morris admits that retirement entered his mind for a short while, at the time he finished his Bachelor of Applied Science, but then his urge to compete again quickly took over.
“Today was the first time I made it through to the super-final and top four so now my expectations of myself are higher,” he said.
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