Australian aerial skier Laura Peel has finished the season with a world ranking of four after an impressive performance in the final of the World Cup event in Myrkdalen-Voss, Norway and fellow AIS/VIS athlete Dannielle Scott was named as World Cup Rookie of the year.
Peel faced the pressure of needing to perform excellent jumps to have a chance of lifting her world ranking from sixth going into the event.
With only five points separating sixth and fourth placings, the Mt Buller skier executed a double twisting double somersault scoring 90 points to qualify for the final stage of the event.
In the super-final, a shoot-out between the top four athletes from the previous round, she backed up with a 79 point double somersault with a single twist.
The jump gained enough points to secure Peel’s highest world ranking of her short but rapidly developing career.
Peel is justifiably proud of her World Cup season, which is only her second at this level and included a win in Austria, a third place in Canada and three other top five placings.
Peel faced a challenge each week for the entire season given that her jumps do not have the degree of difficulty to match the top Chinese athletes and realistically the potential to earn enough points to consistently challenge the top three ranked skiers.
However, it is still early days in Peel’s career and she will aim to add further jumps with higher difficulty in 2013.
Peel said she is pleasantly surprised by the way the season has unfolded.
“I’m super happy to have a top four ranking for the season. I did not expect it,” Peel said.
“Now we will get going on summer training and increase my level of difficulty so hopefully I can get on the podium a bit more next year.”
Another aspect of the fourth place in Norway, is that Peel is now confident she is better prepared for next year’s World Championships, to be staged at Myrkdalen-Voss.
“It definitely helps to get used to surroundings before a big event like the World Championships,” she said.
Fellow AIS/VIS scholarship holder Danielle Scott was another squad member who has strong reason to celebrate.
Scott, 22, was named the World Cup Rookie of the Year, a recognition voted on at the World Cup final by representatives of the competing nations, despite a comparatively disappointing result in the final competition for the season.
Peel faced the pressure of needing to perform excellent jumps to have a chance of lifting her world ranking from sixth going into the event.
With only five points separating sixth and fourth placings, the Mt Buller skier executed a double twisting double somersault scoring 90 points to qualify for the final stage of the event.
In the super-final, a shoot-out between the top four athletes from the previous round, she backed up with a 79 point double somersault with a single twist.
The jump gained enough points to secure Peel’s highest world ranking of her short but rapidly developing career.
Peel is justifiably proud of her World Cup season, which is only her second at this level and included a win in Austria, a third place in Canada and three other top five placings.
Peel faced a challenge each week for the entire season given that her jumps do not have the degree of difficulty to match the top Chinese athletes and realistically the potential to earn enough points to consistently challenge the top three ranked skiers.
However, it is still early days in Peel’s career and she will aim to add further jumps with higher difficulty in 2013.
Peel said she is pleasantly surprised by the way the season has unfolded.
“I’m super happy to have a top four ranking for the season. I did not expect it,” Peel said.
“Now we will get going on summer training and increase my level of difficulty so hopefully I can get on the podium a bit more next year.”
Another aspect of the fourth place in Norway, is that Peel is now confident she is better prepared for next year’s World Championships, to be staged at Myrkdalen-Voss.
“It definitely helps to get used to surroundings before a big event like the World Championships,” she said.
Fellow AIS/VIS scholarship holder Danielle Scott was another squad member who has strong reason to celebrate.
Scott, 22, was named the World Cup Rookie of the Year, a recognition voted on at the World Cup final by representatives of the competing nations, despite a comparatively disappointing result in the final competition for the season.
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