​Australia have delivered a sensational performance in their first-ever Olympic Mixed Aerials Team event, finishing fourth in the final competition at the Livigno Aerials and Moguls Park at Milano Cortina 2026. 

As the only nation fielding two females and one male, the Australians put down some of their best jumps of the Games to qualify third for the four-team final, before ultimately placing fourth. 

​Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking

Abbey Willcox opened Australia’s qualification round with a strong back full-double full (81.78) before Women’s Aerials silver medallist 

Danielle Scott bettered her career-best score of 117.19 – set three days earlier in the women’s Final 1. Scott’s back full-full-full scored 120.20 as the top female jump of the competition.

​Reilly Flanagan rounded out the impressive qualifying performance with a back double full-full to score 87.06. 

The Flying Kangaroos returned to the top of the hill for the final alongside China, Switzerland and the United States. While Willcox and Scott both performed beautiful airs, they were unable to replicate their landings from qualification, scoring 64.86 and 95.30 respectively. 

Flanagan was the final Aussie to jump, embracing the pressure and delivering the best competition jump of his career, executing a back double-full-full for a personal best score of 95.88 to take Australia’s combined total to 256.04. 

​Flanagan said putting down a PB in an Olympic final was the “best feeling in my life.” 

“I was just super happy when I landed that and just so proud of this team, too. 

“This experience has been incredible for me, a lot of learnings… but with these experiences I’ll be able to hopefully grow a lot more and carry on through the next four years,” he said. 

Scott also said she was thrilled to build on her individual silver medal performance and put down an even better jump in the Teams event. 

“That was pretty special. I think it's a little bit of redemption for dragging my hands on that individual jump [in the women’s super final],” she said. 

“I just wanted to put everything out there again. I was way more nervous today, I just wanted to do the best for this team. 

“To be in a final at the Olympics is huge for us, we really put everything on the line… I'm just proud of these guys. We did a good job.” 

Team USA claimed gold, landing three exceptional jumps for a combined score of 325.35. Switzerland took silver with 296.91, highlighted by male skiers Noe Roth and Pirmin Werner landing two of the most difficult jumps in the sport. China finished in third, and while their two male skiers were unable to cleanly land their back double full-double full-full jumps, with a 5.1 degree of difficulty (DD), their scores remained very competitive and the combined total was enough to edge in front of Australia. 

Scott explained that the DD of both male skiers is what gave China their advantage in the final, despite Australia executing cleaner landings. 

“We don't have the degree of difficulty that all the other nations do, we are still a young team, you know, Reilly just started this sport a few years ago,” she said. 

“A landing is obviously important, it's 30% of the score, but with that higher degree of difficulty, it just factors in that way. 

“This is setting the pathway for the future and I'm pretty excited to see where we can go with this team now.” 

Knowing the Aussies are at a competitive disadvantage as the only team with two female skiers, Scott put the call out there to encourage more men to take up the sport. 

“I'm so proud of these guys, because we literally put it all out there, and we'll come back stronger, we'll have more DD and hopefully some more guys on the team if anyone's interested!”

Australia will compete in the Aerials Mixed Teams event for the first time at Milano Cortina 2026.

The Teams event debuted at Beijing 2022, with six nations taking part in the unique format. However, without a male aerial skier in Beijing, Australia was unable to compete, as teams cannot field three athletes of the same gender.

Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking
​
With Reilly Flanagan making his Olympic debut in the Men’s Aerials event on Friday 20 February, Australia will contest the Team event for the first time. Silver medallist Danielle Scott and finalist Abbey Willcox have been named alongside Flanagan in the Team.

Coming into the Team event just three days after winning her first Olympic medal, Scott said she’s excited to carry her career best form in the Team event.

“I wouldn’t be here without my Team around me and to now go into the next event I hope to put down another great performance,” Scott said.

“Anything can happen in a Team event, and we’ve got [mixed teams] medals before, so I’m pretty excited and we’ll bring our best.”

While Flanagan still has his individual event before he can focus on the Team event, he said he’s taking inspiration from his Flying Kangaroos teammates.

“The girls did an amazing job yesterday,” he said. “They literally just showcased how good and dominant we are in this sport.

“With Aerials typically being an individual sport, I feel very grateful to have my two teammates here and to be able to make history being part of Australia’s first Mixed Aerials Team at the Olympics.”

After finishing 10th at her debut Games, Willcox said she’s excited to get another chance to perform on the world’s biggest stage alongside her teammates.

“I love the Team event because it feels like we’re competing as one and we’re all in it together,” Willcox said.

“Before every comp jump, we always hype each other up and show our support and belief in each other.”

The Mixed Teams competition sees three athletes – with at least one male and one female – perform one jump each. Scores are combined to determine standings, with the top four teams from qualification advancing to the final under the same format.

While men often compete with a higher Degree of Difficulty (DD), offering greater scoring potential, the increased complexity also comes with greater risk on landing.

“Most countries will have two males and one female, but our Team will have one male and two females,” Willcox explained.

“Reilly and I will be going off the double kicker and Dani will go off the triple kicker.

“With a higher degree of difficulty comes more challenging jumps and that makes the Teams competition so interesting. Some nations will go big and they might crash out, and that’s when we sneak in with our tricks and cleanly landed jumps.”

The Aerials Mixed Team event will held on the final day of competition at Milano Cortina, Saturday 21 February, with the action underway from 8.45pm AEDT.

It was a testing morning for the Men’s Aerial Qualification, with light swirling winds and snow making in-run speed and visibility challenging. However, with the heavy snow in recent days the landing hill was soft, making it safe for the field to pull out some of their bigger and more spectacular jumps. 

Swiss jumper Pirmin Werner won the first round of qualification, delivering a near perfect quad twisting triple back flip scoring 122.17 points. The biggest jump in qualifying came in the second round when Chinese jumper Tianma Li performed a quin twisting triple back with the highest degree of difficulty of the morning, winning the round with a huge 127.50 points. 

For the Australians, the men’s team is in the process of building strong talent for the future of the sport. At these Games, 21-year-old 
Reilly Flanagan
 was gaining valuable insight into competing in an Olympic field and the pressures of the Games. Flanagan is targeting the French Alps Games and is still in the process of building up his degree of difficulty for 2030. 

An elite gymnast before he transitioning to aerial skiing, Flanagan was excited to finally become an Olympian and is pleased with his decision to switch sports. 

“It's a dream come true. I’ve dreamt about being an Olympian for my whole life,” the Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship holder said. 

“I’ve no regrets changing over from the gymnastics to aerials now. No, none at all and I’m looking forward to shoot for my next Games.”

As part of the Olympic Winter Institute of Australia program, Flanagan trains at the Geoff Henke Winter Olympic Training Centre in Brisbane and is keen to get back to the water jump facility there so he can continue to push up his degree of difficulty. 

“So, we'll have a little break after the Olympics, and then we'll get back into bit of strength and conditioning at home, and then straight back into the water ramping.

“After this is all done and dusted, I'll be very, very ready to go back to work and push the DD to get better every day.”

Flanagan put down two solid jumps in qualifying, a triple twisting double back and a double twisting double back scoring 74.02 and 87.57 respectively, finishing 20th overall. 

The final event on the aerials program is the Mixed Team event.

Team officials announced yesterday that Flanagan will be joined by fellow Snow Australia athletes Abbey Willcox and Olympic silver medallist Danielle Scott to take on the world’s best in this event.

It will be the first time that Australia has had a team in the Mixed Aerials event and will again add to Flanagan’s experience at these Games. 

“Well, we don't have quite the same difficulty across the board as the other teams,” said Flanagan. “But look, anything can happen in the team events, so we just need to put down the best jumps we can and just be as clean as possible and land our jumps.” 

Danielle Scott has won silver in Aerial Skiing, Australia’s sixth medal at an already historic Games for Australia. 

The 35-year-old brought her best form to Milano Cortina 2026. From qualifications through to finals, the flying Aussie looked the one to beat.  

​Article courtesy olympics.com.au / Images Copyright Chris Hocking

Scott executed an immaculate full-full-full in Final 1 to shoot straight into the Super Final with a score of 117.19 – the highest score of the day and a personal best result for Scott. 

In the one-jump Super Final, Scott’s full-full-full was beautiful in the air, but a deep landing saw her draw a score of 102.17 to take home silver.  

“To finally have this around my neck, I mean, it's taken four Olympics and it's been an incredible ride – a lot of highs, a lot of lows – but today I just put my heart out there, I left everything out there,” an emotional Scott said. 

“I jumped the way I wanted to, and I'm so grateful for my team around me for getting me to this point. This just means everything.” 

In a final where the top nine skiers were all performing triple jumps, it was the highest scoring women’s aerials final in history. 

Having not competed triples since 2023, Scott said she was thrilled to deliver a career-best performance on the world’s biggest stage. 

“Yeah, to see 117 on the scoreboard was pretty magic. I would like to have done that in the Super Final, but I can't get too greedy. I think today's been an awesome day.

“I hadn’t competed triples until now. You know, it’s been a rough ride, and I just kept believing the process was going to work. 

“It’s strategy as well — you’ve got to play the game sometimes, and my body has been through a lot. So I left [competing triples] to the right time and just believed that I've got the experience, I've done triples before and today was the day.” 

​Already a multiple World Cup winner, the Victorian Institute of Sport athlete’s previous best Olympic finish was 9th.  

Scott becomes Australia’s fourth Aerial Skiing medallist, exactly 24 years to the day after Alisa Camplin won Australia’s first gold medal in the sport.  

That moment sparked Scott’s Olympic dream and Camplin, Australia’s Winter Olympic Chef de Mission, was the first to congratulate Scott in Livigno.  

“It's been 12 years of coming in with the Olympic dream and now finally she just does the most beautiful jumps of her life, so I couldn't have been more happy for her,” Camplin said. 

“She's worked really hard for this, mentally and emotionally. Everyone could see that she has the most floaty, tightest, straightest, biggest, most gorgeous jumps. 

“I can’t tell you how much pressure is it is to be last in the start gate and to put that beautiful jump out there. She well and truly, over 12 years, over 12 months, over 12 hours, did everything possible to secure that performance and I couldn’t be more proud of her and the entire team behind her. 

“That was a next level female aerial final. The number of women doing full-full-fulls and landing them… it was one of the greatest competitions of all time, for her to be silver there was outstanding.” 

Abbey Willcox also qualified for final 1, finishing 10th overall with a textbook back full-double full in the 12-skier final, scoring 88.83. 

“It felt so good to be out there [in an Olympic final] and land my jumps as well. It’s a dream come true,” Willcox said. 

“As soon as I made the Olympic Team, it was like a weight off my shoulders, and then to go out and do this, it’s everything I really wanted to do so I feel really happy and proud of myself.” 

Fellow Aussie Olympic debutants Sidney Stephens and Airleigh Frigo placed 15th and 22nd respectively in the qualification round.  

Scott will have another shot at a medal in the Mixed Aerials Team event on Saturday 21 February. 

​Just prior to the first official training session of the Australian Aerials Team, it was announced that Laura Peel had made the difficult decision to pull out of what would have been her fourth Olympic Games.

Peel ruptured the ACL in her right knee at a pre-Olympic training camp in Airolo, Switzerland on 3 February and had been working with medical staff and strength and conditioning professionals to see if she could make it back in time to still compete at the Games. 

Article courtesy olympics.com.au

However aerial skiing is a high impact sport that requires the utmost leg strength and stability. For Peel to make it back, it was always going to be an uphill battle and unfortunately, she was unable to make it.  

Australian aerial skiing has a rich heritage and there is a significant pipeline of talented young skiers ready to fly high if they get the call. Over the last six Olympic Games, Australia has won five medals in aerial skiing giving the sport’s significant exposure across the country.  

Key to that is the AIS Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Facility in Brisbane - a water jump that has been crucial to Australia's Moguls and Aerials success. 

Just prior to the Olympics, our World Cup Team secured four places to the Games. With Peel, out a spot on the team opened up and there was always going to be a young Australian waiting to fill some very large shoes.  

Enter Sidney Stephens, a Western Australian elite gymnast and World Cup rookie who was excited to find out that she was heading to the Games when she answered the call.  

“Yeah, super excited. I think it was that yesterday morning that I found out and then got over here,” she said. Stephen had returned to Europe to ski after her last World Cup in Lake Placid in the USA.  

The Snow Australia and Victorian Institute of Sport athlete comes to Milano Cortina conscious of what Peel has been through to create this opportunity.  

“I think it is pretty mixed emotions at the same time, obviously, it was pretty hard to hear that Laura wasn't going to be able to compete here,” said Stephens. “I think everyone was really, rooting for her. 

“So, it is pretty, tough, but yeah, also exciting to be here.” 

Stephens is still very early in her aerial skiing career. Her World Cup debut only a little over 12 months ago at Lake Placid in the USA. She is still building up her degree of difficulty and will be jumping doubles at these Games, rather than Peel’s triples.  

Speaking to her after training on the Livigno aerial hill where she had the chance to test out some of her skills, she talked about what she planned to put down at the Games.  

“Today, I just did some lay-tucks [double somersault] and lay falls [double somersault with a single twist]. So pretty much the skills I'll be putting down in the competition.” 

While the 23-year-old hasn’t got the degree of difficulty of Peel and is unlikely to be in the medals at these Games it will be a valuable learning experience for her. 

Milano Cortina 2026 will form an experience that will arm Stephens with vital knowledge she can take forward in her career, understanding what it takes to perform on the world’s biggest stage. 

“I think I'm just really excited to be honest, trying to soak it all in,” she said. 

Stephens is on an AIS Athlete Education Scholarship to study at Griffith University.

Danielle Scott has wrapped up the Olympic qualification period in style, delivering back-to-back podium finishes at the final Aerial Skiing World Cup events in Lake Placid, USA. After claiming gold yesterday, Scott added a bronze medal today, bringing her career tally to 27 World Cup podiums.
 
Despite challenging conditions with strong winds and falling snow, three VIS skiers advanced to the top-12 finals after performing the same full-full double twisting double back somersaults. Scott qualified second with 88.51 points, Laura Peel was close behind in third on 87.57, and Abbey Willcox secured sixth with 84.42.
 
In the opening round of finals, two Australians progressed to the six-athlete super-final. Peel impressed with 104.72 points for her lay-full-full double twisting triple back somersault to qualify second, while Scott advanced in sixth with 84.42 points for her full-full jump. Willcox narrowly missed the cut, finishing eighth on 75.60 points.
 
In the medal round, Scott claimed bronze with 85.65 points for her double full-full triple twisting double back somersault. Victory went to Kaila Kuhn of the USA on 105.60 points, with Mengtao Xu of China second on 105.17 points. Peel finished fourth after struggling to land her signature full-full-full triple twisting triple back somersault in the tough conditions, scoring 63.96.
 
“It’s been a slow start to the season for me, but these back-to-back podiums over the past few days are what I am looking for,” said the 35-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.
 
“We’ve had tricky conditions, but I have done some nice jumps and I am looking forward to the next month’s training.
 
“The girls right now are doing some really big jumps, its super exciting. For the conditions out here today, I just played the game and put my jumps down, but I am super inspired by what the girls are doing and can’t wait to get out there and do it too.
 
“We’ll stay in Lake Placid for a few more days of training before heading to Switzerland to knuckle down and get everything we need in place ahead of the Olympics in Italy.“
 
Other VIS athletes in action missing finals included Sidney Stephens in 24th and Airleigh Frigo in 25th. In the men’s event, Reilly Flanagan finished 30th.
 
In the final World Cup standings for the season, three Australians finished inside the top 10, Laura Peel in fifth, Danielle Scott seventh, and Abbey Willcox tenth, with Airleigh Frigo just outside in eleventh place.

Danielle Scott in Lake Placid
© Chris Hocking

VIS aerial skier Danielle Scott has returned to the top of the podium, claiming her first World Cup victory since March 2023 in Lake Placid, USA. The win marks her first podium finish of the season and the seventh World Cup victory of her career.
 
In qualifying, three VIS skiers advanced to the top-12 finals, with all three performing the full-full double twisting double back somersault. Laura Peel qualified in first place, Danielle Scott was close behind in second on 86.62, and Airleigh Frigo was ninth with 80.01.
 
In the opening round of finals, two Australians made it through to the six-athlete super-final. Scott was second after scoring 87.25 points for her full-full jump, while Laura Peel squeezed into sixth place with 82.97 points for her lay-full-full double twisting double back somersault. Airleigh Frigo narrowly missed the cut, finishing seventh with 81.90 points.
 
Scott was impressive in difficult wind conditions in the super-final, scoring 95.88 points for her double full-full triple twisting double back somersault to take the victory. Mengtao Xu of China was runner up on 94.01 points, and Kaila Kuhn of the USA finished third on 92.29 points. Peel was sixth after struggling to land her signature full-full-full triple twisting triple back somersault.
 
Scott has been planning for triple back somersaults this northern hemisphere season and was aiming to compete them for the first time this season in Lake Placid, but windy conditions put that plan on hold.
 
“I’m just letting this sink in. I’ve had a rough run this season,” said the 35-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.
 
“A lot of highs and lows, coming back to triples has been tricky. Today I just needed to go prove myself, and I did that, so I’m stoked.
 
“I was hoping to do triples, and we made some hard decisions and decided to keep it on the double. I think it paid off. I want to do them, so let’s get Mother Nature on our side.”
 
Other Australians in action missing finals included Abbey Willcox (15th) and Sidney Stephens (23rd). In the men’s event, Reilly Flanagan finished 28th.

IMAGE
The Australian team celebrate Danielle Scott's gold medal in Lake Placid © FIS

VIS aerial skiing double World Champion Laura Peel stormed back to form, securing her first World Cup victory of the season with an impressive performance at Lac-Beauport, Canada.
 
Peel bounced back from a 23rd-place finish on day one in Canada, delivering an excellent series of trademark triple back somersault to capture the 15th World Cup win of her career and her fourth victory at Lac-Beauport.
 
Peel qualified for the finals in eighth place with a double full-full double somersault scoring 81.78 points, joining VIS teammate Airleigh Frigo, who impressed with a career best score of 87.25 to advance in fourth. Making her first World Cup final was VIS second year World Cup competitor Sidney Stephens, in 12th scoring 76.85 points for her lay-full jump.
 
In the opening round of finals, Peel soared to the top-six super-final with a lay-full-full triple back somersault, earning 106.74 points. Frigo narrowly missed advancing in seventh place with 84.73 points, while Stephens achieved a personal best, finishing 11th on 72.29 points.
 
In the super-final, all three podium finishers performed the challenging full-full-full triple twisting back somersault. Peel led the way with a big score of 113.76 points, followed by American Winter Vinecki in second on 109.90, with China’s Xu Mengtao third on 97.02.
 
“I don’t know if we’ve had three full-full-fulls on the podium before,” said the 36-year-old Peel from Canberra.
 
“It’s epic to see women out there doing the big tricks, because we can. It’s great fun.
 
Also in action for Australia in Lac-Beauport was Abbey Willcox, who narrowly missed finals by one place in 13th and Danielle Scott was 20th, while in the men’s event, Reilly Flanagan also finished 20th.

The Aerial Skiing World Cup season commenced in Ruka, Finland, with VIS skier Airleigh Frigo the highest placed finisher of the Flying Kangaroos, advancing to the super-final and securing a sixth-place finish overall.
 
2025 VIS World Cup Champion Laura Peel made a strong start, winning the qualifying round with 89.46 points for her full-full double twisting back somersault. Frigo secured the final spot in the 12-woman final, scoring 74.97 with the same jump.
 
Just missing the cut were VIS teammates Danielle Scott and Abbey Willcox, finishing 13th and 14th respectively, both scoring 73.71, with Scott ranked higher on a tiebreak. Sidney Stephens placed 21st (60.90), while in the men’s event Reilly Flannegan finished 19th (120 points).

Unfortunately, Elise Coleiro sustained a knee injury during training and has returned to Australia for further assessment.
 
In the first round of finals, Frigo scored 76.54 for her full-full jump, advancing in sixth place to the super-final medal round. Peel increased her degree of difficulty with a triple back somersault but struggled on landing, scoring 60.42 for 10th place.

In her third career super-final, Frigo performed a lay-full single twisting double back somersault, scoring 51.62 points to secure sixth place overall.
 
China’s Mengtao Xu claimed victory with a score of 89.29 points, ahead of Canada’s Marion Thenault in second place with 82.48 points. Third place went to Meiting Chen of China, who finished with 75.31 points.
 
The next Aerial Skiing World Cup stop will be at Secret Garden, China, featuring an individual event on December 20 and a team competition on December 21.

IMAGE COPYRIGHT CHRIS HOCKING

Australia has finished with four medals at the 2025 FIS World Championships in St Mortiz, Switzerland, after Danielle Scott claimed a bronze medal in the aerial skiing event on the last day of competition. The medal performance is Scott’s fourth World Championship podium over her decorated career.
 
Competing in warm conditions at the iconic Swiss resort, three Australian women competed in the best of two jump opening round of finals and Danielle Scott landed two great jumps to advance to the top-six super final in second place from her best score of 98.34 for her double full-full triple twisting double somersault.
 
Current World Cup Champion and two-time World Champion Laura Peel was very unlucky to miss out on the super final in seventh place, after touching a hand on landing on both her triple somersault jumps. Peel’s highest score was on her full-full-full jump with 85.86 points putting her in sixth place on the bubble for the super final but was relegated to seventh on the last jump of the round by Chinese skier Xuezheng Chen. Airliegh Frigo, was behind Peel in eighth landing both jumps with a best score of 79.06 on her full-full.
 
In the super final, Scott again put down another great score on her double full-full triple twisting double somersault, scoring 96.93 points to finish in third place and fourth career World Championship medal.
 
Finish ahead of Scott was American Kaila Kuhn who claimed the first victory of her career scoring 105.13 with Mengtao Xu of China in second on 99.16.
 
“So happy, I literally did everything I could, every jump today was on the money” said the 35-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.”
 
“Not doing triple somersaults, I was really focused on myself and maximising those points and it did pay off, so I am really excited for what’s ahead now.”
 
“It’s been a bit funny here with the weather, we have had everything, flat light, snow, head and tail winds, and then the wind came in right on our last training jump, but the coaching team handled it well. This season has been a special one, the team around us has really bonded and that strength is showing, there is a lot of confidence in that and for me it’s about getting the speeds right, so thanks to the team.”
 
“Bring it on, I am so excited for the next 12 months, it’s been a bit of a rough run for me, I did barely any training heading into this season, due to a couple of personal reasons, but my Dad’s fighting, he’s doing well now, I dedicate this medal to him.”
 
Australia’s World Championship campaign has finished with four medals in St Moritz, snowboard halfpipe gold to James, silver in snowboard cross mixed teams to Mia Clift and Cam Bolton, bronze to Matt Graham in the dual moguls and Scott in the aerials.

It takes a special person to think it’s a good idea to become an aerial skier.

It’s one of the most dangerous Olympic Winter Sports.

Aerial skiers pelt down an icy ramp at 60+ kilometers per hour, launch themselves off a vertically inclined ramp, soar up to 15 metres into the air, and perform multiple flips and twists before landing on a steep, slippery slope.
Watching it is mind-boggling: It’s hard to conceive how anyone can learn to perform such stunts.
It’s also hard to believe that our sun-soaked country has a rich history of success in this gravity-defying sport. But we do!

Kirstie Marshall and Jacqui Cooper set the lofty standards back in the day and blazed a formidable trail for future generations of young Australian aerial skiers, both claiming World titles and 80 World Cup medals between them. 
Since then, Australia has five World Champions in the event and of the 19 medals Australia has won at the Winter Olympics, five have been won by aerial skiers. 

Alisa Camplin-Warner AM won Australia's first freestyle skiing Olympic gold in 2002, followed with bronze in Torino 2006. Five-time Olympian, Lydia Lassila OAM, followed the same gold-bronze streak in Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014, respectively.

Albeit Australia's rich aerials history is female dominant, David Morris also claimed the first Men's Olympic aerials medal for Australia at Sochi 2014, with a silver medal.

Many an Olympic program would love to have the record of success that aerial skiing has enjoyed.
In World Cup competitions, Australia has won a spectacular 88 gold medals, the fourth-most of any nation behind Canada, China and the United States.

This success is even more impressive given the primitive facilities they used to train in when in Australia.
Most aerial skiers will spend at least half the year at an aquatic training facility - literally a ski jump that leads into a pool, rather than a slope – where they practice their aerial skills until they are confident enough to attempt them on snow.

From the pioneering ‘Flying Kangaroos’ until recently, the athletes used a water jump facility near Lilydale on Melbourne’s outskirts and it was like jumping into a dirty brown farm dam.

In fact, it pretty much was jumping into a dirty brown farm dam.

However, the sport received a huge boost with the opening of the world class Geoff Henke Water Ramp facility located at Brisbane’s Sleeman Sports Centre in late 2020.

The impressive facility allowed the aerial skiers to train all year round on home soil, keeping them internationally competitive without the tiresome travel. A game changer.

Success clearly breeds success, and today’s crop are sustaining the legacy.

Laura Peel and Danielle Scott are the current standouts - Peel is Australia’s first aerial skiing double World Champion and current World Cup Crystal Globe winner (overall World Cup winner), while Scott is a dual World Cup Crystal Globe winner - both are Olympic veterans and eyeing a fourth berth at Milano Cortina next year.

In early February, the Flying Kangaroos completed a remarkable clean sweep of the first four places at a FIS Freestyle World Cup event in Deer Valley – the iconic venue where Camplin-Warner famously won her Olympic gold.
Peel claimed top seed ahead of Scott, and emerging stars Abbey Willcox and Airleigh Frigo were third and fourth respectively.

It was the first time Australia had swept the podium in any winter sport, let alone the top four, and put the world on notice less than a year out from the 2026 Winter Olympics.

So, what’s the key to success in this breath-taking sport? Mindset.

Not a single athlete jumps without fear.

According to Victorian Institute of Sport Performance Psychology Manager, Dan Dymond, the most important thing psychologically is “connecting with your ability to do it, irrespective of the fear - the ability to take yourself to places that your opponent isn't willing to.”

Who wouldn’t be afraid? One mishap - a botched launch, an arm slightly askew, an unexpected tailwind - can have disastrous consequences. Bad conditions, a crash, even seeing someone else fall can get into an athlete’s head, planting seeds of doubt.

Marshall’s career was interrupted by 12 knee operations; Camplin-Warner broke nearly every bone in her body as she climbed through the ranks; Lassila battled excruciating knee injuries to make it to the pinnacle, and while Peel has never broken a bone, she’s had shoulder reconstruction and a couple of ankle surgeries.

Injuries become inevitable, even mainstream, in the world of winter sports.

And yet, in the world’s top ten in aerials, there’s not much of an athletic difference - it’s a mental difference.

“If you can dig deeper, as in lean into what's really hard, more than the person who's competing next to you, you're going to move the probability needle in your direction and have greater chances of success,” said Dymond.

It comes down to putting mind over matter - eliminating negative thoughts, practicing relaxation and breathing techniques, visualisation and envisioning success.
Camplin-Warner once said she achieved what she did in sport by “controlling and maximising my mind, as well as my body.”

"For me, probably the greatest thing that unlocked my potential was when I started working with a performance psychologist,” said Camplin-Warner.

"I was able to acquire tools and techniques that unlocked my mindset and set me up to focus on what I can control and regulate under pressure and find my courage and trust within myself to be the ultimate athlete that I could be."

Lassila’s career was marked by mental resilience which spawned trailblazing achievements.

She overcame a succession of injury problems, including two knee reconstructions, to triumph in Vancouver. Her daring attempts, like the quad-twisting triple somersault in Sochi 2014, left an indelible mark on the sport, and she made history as the first Australian woman to compete in five Winter Olympics at PyeongChang 2018.

Interestingly, many of Australia’s aerialists who enjoyed success on the snow transferred their passion, resilience and competitive grit into stunningly successful careers off the slopes.

After hanging her one-piece ski suit, Marshall was successfully elected as a Member of Parliament in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Australian Labor Party.

Cooper continued to use her skillset and the many tools in her toolbox in every area of her life - she became a successful motivational speaker, a business owner, an author, an entrepreneur, and a mum to three children.

Upon retirement, Camplin-Warner turned to the corporate world and spent 16 years with IBM in senior roles, she has held numerous leadership roles in sport, including Chair of the Australian Sports Foundation and Director of the Collingwood Football Club, and was recently named as the first female to lead the country’s Winter Olympic Team as Chef de Mission for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

Lassila’s resilient and entrepreneurial spirit in sport was the foundation for her success beyond the ski suit - she founded BodyICE in 2007, a now global company forged from her days of adversity that provides innovative cold therapy products, and in 2020, launched ZONE by Lydia, a sustainable yoga and wellness brand driven by her passion for yoga, living mindfully and the environment.

Their success was not magic or accidental, it was the result of hard work, dedication and possessing certain personality traits that lend themselves to high achievement.

“When you think about the sport and the type of psychological requirements - more openness to experience, a bit more sensation seeking and more tolerance to anxiety and adrenaline - those kinds of psychological traits are more complimentary to confronting things that are scary, and being open to trying new things,” said Dymond.

“The constant exposure to the adrenaline and the high octane and challenging movements opens their minds to what’s possible and they are more likely to say - “yes, I’m going to do this, I'm not actually 100% sure what's going to happen, but I’m going to do this” - it's that willingness to take a risk,” added Dymond.

In many ways, aerial skiing seems like the ultimate manifestation of intention. 

What you think, you do. What you think, you become. 

This ideology may just be on show for all to watch next week. 

A stacked World Cup season has just come to an end, but the World Championships now loom less than a fortnight away. With tired bodies on the line, mind over matter may just be the difference between securing a World title, or not. 

VIS aerial skier Laura Peel won the final World Cup event of the season with a stunning performance on the 2026 Olympic course in Livigno, Italy, her fifth victory of the season and the 14th of her impressive career. In doing so, Peel claimed her third FIS World Cup Crystal Globe as the number one ranked athlete at the end of World Cup circuit.

Australian female aerial skiers have amassed a total of 14 Crystal Globes over the past 33 years. Peel now has the second-highest total among Australians with three, trailing only the legendary Jacqui Cooper, who has five. Other winners include Kirstie Marshall, Alisa Camplin, Lydia Lassila, and Danielle Scott.

Heading into to the final event, Peel had a near unbeatable lead in the standings and only needed to finish 12th or better to secure the title, leading Chinese skier Mengtao Xu by 78 points. Peel made sure of that by qualifying for the 12-woman final in second place. Joining Peel in finals were VIS teammates Airleigh Frigo in fifth, Abbey Willcox seventh and Danielle Scott 10th. Just missing finals action by one place was Elise Coleiro in 13th and in the men’s event Reilly Flanagan was 17th.

Peel performed a lay-full-full double twisting triple back somersault in the first round of finals, to advance to the top six super-final in second place on 91.83 points. Just missing out on the medal round were Abbey Willcox in seventh, Airleigh Frigo ninth and Danielle Scott 11th.

In the super-final Peel upped her degree of difficulty scoring what was an unbeatable 112.90 points for her spectacular full-full-full triple twisting triple back somersault in one of her best jumps of the season. Second place went to Xu of China on 105.17 and her teammate Meiting Chen was third on 91.44.

“I am so stoked, honestly I couldn’t be happier, it’s globe number three, I don’t think it gets any easier,” said the 35-year-old Peel from Canberra.

“That’s day four on this site now. I’ve got to say I really like it. It’s been working well for me, I’ve been jumping well. That’s a relief and I’m so excited to come back here for the Olympics.”

Peel finished the season number one on 542 points, 98 clear of Xu on 444 and Scott was third on 368, it is the sixth time in her career Scott has placed in the top three on final season rankings. Willcox and Frigo both had the highest rankings of their careers in fifth and 10th places respectively.

The season will conclude at the FIS World Championships in St Moritz, Switzerland. First up will be the aerial teams event on March 27, to be followed by individual qualifications on March 29 and finals March 30.

Peel, Scott, Willcox and Frigo will represent Australia in the women’s event and Flanagan will be the lone Aussie in the men’s competition.

Peel is aiming for her third World Championship gold in Switzerland. She commented, “pretty much keep the same plan, what I have been doing I just want to repeat the same at the World Champs, it’s a long season, everyone is getting a bit tired, but we are super exited to head to St Moritz and it’s the peak of our season.”

VIS aerial skiers Laura Peel and Danielle Scott made it a double World Cup podium celebration in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where Peel claimed gold and Scott bronze.
 
The victory completed a terrific turnaround for Peel, after qualifying in last place in the 12-woman final, but then landed both triple back somersaults in the first final and then the medal round to record the 13th World Cup victory of her career.
 
Four VIS women qualified for finals with Scott in first, Airleigh Frigo seventh, Abbey Willcox eighth and Peel in 12th. First year World Cup athlete, Elise Coleiro was 13th to just miss the final and matching her career best finish.
 
In the first round of finals, Peel performed a lay-full-full triple somersault scoring 93.85 placing her third, Scott scored 91.66 for her full-full double somersault putting her in fourth and Willcox made it three Aussies in the super-final in sixth place, scoring 84.96 for her full-full jump. Missing out on the super-final was Frigo in 12th on 60.79 for her full-full.
 
In the medal round, Peel increased her difficult adding an extra twist jumping full-full-full to score a massive 115.91 points in first place and her fourth victory of the season. Mengtao Xu of China was second on 101.74, Scott was third and after increasing her difficulty performing a double full-full (triple twisting double somersault) which scored 87.06. Willcox finished sixth jumping a different triple twist variation but missing the landing to score 65.56.
 
“I feel great, really relieved. I think I got a little lucky, I snuck into the final, so I’m just happy to be jumping,” said Peel, the 35-year-old double World Champion from Canberra.
 
In the men’s competition Reilly Flanagan performed a lay full single twisting double somersault to finish 31st.
 
With one event remaining, Peel is on 442 points on top of the World Cup standings, increasing her lead to 78 points ahead of Xu, Scott is third 98 points behind Peel. Also in the top-10 for Australia are Willcox sixth and Frigo ninth.
 
The final World Cup of the season will take place at the 2026 Olympic venue in Livigno, Italy, on March 13.
 
Peel is in prime position to secure her third career World Cup crystal globe if she can finish 12th or better in Italy.
 
Peel said: “I’m in a good spot, but I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. One jump at a time, but I’m really happy.”

VIS aerial skiers have swept the first four places at the iconic World Cup event in Deer Valley, USA, the first time Australia has filled the FIS World Cup podium in any winter sport.
 
Leading the way was two-time World Champion Laua Peel who claimed her third straight victory and 12th win of her impressive career, ahead of two-time defending World Cup champion Danielle Scott in second, Abbey Willcox was third and Airleigh Frigo fourth.
 
Competing on the historic 2002 Olympic Course, athletes encountered challenging weather throughout the week. Warm conditions led to the cancellation of two training days, and heavy snowfall on the event day forced the qualification round to be rescheduled to the night final session.
 
In difficult conditions, Peel reduced her degree of difficulty to double somersaults, scoring 87.88 points for her full-full double twisting double somersault jump and advancing to the top-six super final in first place. Willcox, Scott, and Frigo also performed the same full-full jump, securing second, third, and fourth places with scores of 82.53, 79.38, and 78.12, respectively.
 
In the super-final, athletes were able to perform the same jump from the qualification round. All Australian athletes chose to compete with the full-full jump. Peel narrowly clinched the win with a score of 87.57, followed closely by Scott, on 86.31. Willcox earned the bronze medal on 81.58, and Frigo was fourth place on 69.30.

“I am really happy to have the yellow leads bib, we are halfway through the season now, and three back-to-back-wins is super exciting, and tonight was so special having an Aussie sweep of the podium and Airleigh as well in fourth place” said Peel, the 35-year-old from Canberra.
 
“It’s incredible, I am so happy, Deer Valley really is a special place for me, it’s my second home, and to take out the sweep with Laura an Abbey and Airleigh in fourth, we are making history, it’s really cool for Australia” said Scott, the 34-year-old Scott from NSW.

“Every World Cup podium I have had has been in Deer Valley, so it’s cool to continue that streak, and to share it with two other Aussies and make history with a clean sweep” said Willcox, the 28-year-old Willcox from Brisbane.
 
Missing out on finals were rookie VIS Flying Kangaroos Sidney Stephens in 14th place, Elise Coleiro 15th, and Reilly Flanagan 24th.
 
After four events, Peel has extended her position at the top of the World Cup standings with an impressive 310 points. Scott has moved into second place with 224 points, while Willcox and Frigo are in eighth and ninth places with 138 and 133 points, respectively.
 
The next World Cup aerial skiing event is in China on February 23 & 24 at Beidahu ski resort.

The Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) congratulates outgoing Ogden Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Mark Adams on his outstanding professional career on his retirement from the organisation, and thanks Mark for his outstanding support of Australian Winter Sports, especially the Flying Kangaroos Aerial Skiing Team which is based in Utah during the Northern Hemisphere winter.
 
Ogden Regional Medical Center (ORMC)began a formal healthcare partnership with the OWIA in 2009. Discussions began after Steve Rogers, OWIA Manager of North America Operations, introduced the idea to Mark Adams. It has been an ideal partnership since the Flying Kangaroos have lived and trained during the winter months in the mountains surrounding Ogden, Utah, for over 20 years. ORMC is a 238-bed full service tertiary hospital located in Ogden, Utah, only 20 miles from Snowbasin Ski resort, where the Flying Kangaroos Aerial Skiing Team have trained for many years.
 
In those early years, it was surprising news that Australia had already experienced some great success on the world stage of winter sports. Coupling the proven high-quality healthcare of ORMC to help the high calibre Australian winter athletes made very good sense. The hospital has always stood ready to provide any and all healthcare resources necessary for the continued health and performance of these elite athletes.
 
Mark Adams, CEO expressed great appreciation for this 15-year partnership that has existed between ORMC and OWIA and stated, “we look forward to continuing this relationship into the future”. Mark is officially retiring as CEO of ORMC in early 2025. However, this will not impact our resolve and plans to continue as the North America healthcare sponsor for the winter athletes from down under that train here. The new CEO at ORMC, Jerry Gonzalez, is excited about continuing and supporting the partnership with OWIA.
 
Mark goes on to say, “this relationship has been so meaningful, that I often find myself cheering and rooting for the Australian athletes’ success even over and above US athletes.” Of course, it helps that so many Australian winter athletes have been on the international podium of success over these past years.
 
Geoff Lipshut, OWIA CEO:
 
“Our partnership with Ogden Regional Medical Center and Mark Adams and his team has always been special. I remember having just formalised the arrangement in Ogden with ORMC with Mark on the way to the Vancouver Olympic Games in early 2010.
 
“Shortly afterwards at those games Lydia Lassila became the second Flying Kangaroo to win the Aerial Skiing Olympic gold medal, following in the footsteps of Alisa Camplin, the 2002 Olympic Champion at Salt Lake City. Mark and ORMC brought us the best of luck!
 
“Knowing we have the support and back up of ORMC is a relief for myself as the responsible officer for our organisation. Our athletes are a long way from home and it is reassuring to know we have the expert professionals available at ORMC to provide our athletes the very best of care.
 
“It has been a pleasure working together with Mark Adams and our long time manager in North America Steve Rogers through these years. On behalf of our Chairman, Dean Gosper and his board, we all thank Mark and wish him much happiness in his future. Mark is a true friend of the Flying Kangaroos and our organisation.
 
“Everyone at the OWIA is looking forward to continuing the close relationship with ORMC and CEO, Jerry Gonzalez.”

IMAGE - The Flying Kangaroos with the Odgen Regional Team

Laura Peel has capped an extraordinary weekend by securing back-to-back gold medals at the World Cup event in Lac-Beauport, Canada. The VIS aerial skier again successfully jumped her spectacular triple back somersaults to lead a double Aussie podium celebration on the second day of competition, when VIS teammate Airleigh Frigo achieved her first career podium finish in third place.
 
In difficult conditions, four Australian women qualified for top 12 finals, Danielle Scott in second, Peel fourth, Abbey Willcox tenth and Frigo 12th, the most of any nation in the women’s event.
 
In the first round of finals, Peel advanced to the super-final medal round in first place after scoring 94.65 points for her lay-full-full triple somersault jump. Joining Peel in her first super-final was 25-year-old Frigo from Brisbane in fifth after scoring 83.47 with a full-full double somersault. Unlucky to miss the super-final were both Abbey WIllcox in seventh on 80.95 and Danielle Scott, eighth on 80.50.
 
In the super-final, Peel increased her degree of difficult adding an extra twist in her triple, scoring 102.17 for her full-full-full jump to record her 11th career World Cup victory. American Karenna Elliott was a distant second on 87.42, and Frigo celebrated her first podium in third, scoring 76.85 for her lay-full double back somersault and smashing her previous best World Cup finish of 12th.
 
“I feel relieved. It’s been all kinds of weather and it’s hard to stay calm up there and trust yourself” said Peel, the 35-year-old double World Champion from Canberra.
 
“I had my plan from the beginning. I didn’t want to change it. I wanted to be able to execute those jumps in all conditions. The difficulty will ramp up going into the (Milan-Cortina 2026) Games, and I want to be ready.
 
“It’s been some really early mornings and long days. I’ll relax for a couple of days, get some good sleep, and get back to work.”
 
Missing out on finals were other VIS Flying Kangaroos Elise Coleiro in 21st place, Sidney Stephens 29th and Reilly Flanagan 31st.
 
After three events, Peel has surged into first place on the World Cup standings on 210 points. Mengtao Xu of China follows in second on 184 and Elliott of the USA is third with 160 Australia has two more athletes in the top-10, Scott in fifth place on 144 points and Frigo in tenth with 83 points.
 
The next aerial skiing World Cup event is on February 7 in Deer Valley, USA, on the iconic “White Owl” 2002 Olympic Winter Games jump site, where Alisa Camplin made history by winning Australia’s first-ever skiing gold medal.

VIS double World Champion Laura Peel claimed her first victory of the season and tenth of her career in the first of two World Cup events in Lac Beauport, Canada.
 
Peel carried on her outstanding form from the team event in Lake Placid the previous  weekend to land both her spectacular triple back somersaults in the final rounds in freezing -20 temperatures.
 
In the first round of finals Peel performed a lay-full-full, double twisting triple back somersault to advance to the six-woman super-final with a score of 104.32 points in first place.
 
For the final jump of the event, Peel increased her degree of difficulty adding an extra twist, with her full-full-full, triple twisting triple back somersault, scoring a huge 117.19, finishing ahead of Chinese skiers Meiting Chen on 102.31 in second and Mengtao Xu in third with 92.72.
 
“Today was a good day, I am really happy with my jumping, I have been working to build consistency, and today it was three-from-three, and I hope it will be the same tomorrow” said the 35-year-old from Canberra.
 
“I have been at this a long time, this is maybe my twelfth of thirteenth year on tour, so I am used to being cold, but when you have a job to do you just put it to the back of your mind. I have a few cues that I tell myself before every jump, I am just trying to stay calm and focus on the process.”
 
Also in action were VIS teammates, Danielle Scott made first round of finals in eighth place and in the qualifications Sidney Stephens was 15th, Airleigh Frigo 19th, Abbey Willcox 21st, Elsie Coleiro 25th and Reilly Flanagan 36th.

Australia has won its first medal in the aerial skiing mixed team event since 2017, after Laura Peel led Australia to a bronze medal performance in Lake Placid, USA.
 
The Australian team featuring VIS skiers two-time World Champion Laura Peel, World Cup medallist Abbey Willcox and World Cup debutant Reilly Flanagan, qualified for the final in fourth place with 263.33 points, highlighted by Peel’s triple twisting triple back somersault scoring 114.62 points which was comparable with the leading men in the event.
 
In the final, Peel was even better, scoring 118.48 points performing the same jump. Willcox and Flanagan both landed every competition jump on the night, which were double somersaults with two twists and one twist respectively.
 
The Australian team landed all six jumps in competition, to finish on the podium in third place and a combined score of 277.63 points. All of the other teams in the competition featured two men and one female competitor, while Team Australia was two females and one male and all scores counted.
 
Finishing in first place was China on 289.17 points, followed by Canada in second with 289.17.
 
“It was a good day, I am super happy, it was the first time I have competed in a team event in a long time, we are happy to have Reilly here now, we have someone in the men’s event so we can compete, and to finish on the podium is amazing” said the 35-year-old Peel from Canberra.
 
“It was great conditions out there, everybody jumped so amazing, it was great to be a part of it” said the 28-year-old Willcox from Brisbane.
 
“It feels amazing to be here, I feel like we are so privileged to have a team after so long, and I am just enjoying the moment” said the 20-year-old Flanagan from Brisbane.
 
The aerial skiing team now heads to Lac-Beauport, Canada, for a double World Cup next weekend on January 25 and 26.

VIS double aerial skiing World Champion Laura Peel has commenced the Northern Hemisphere winter with a double gold medal performance in the European Cup events in Ruka, Finland, with teammates Abbey Willcox also claiming medals on both days and Danielle Scott finishing third in her one start at the event.
 
The VIS program has been training in Finland for the past month, with Continental Cup team skiers Miriana Perkins and Elise Coleiro performing their first ever double back somersaults on snow.
 
Over the weekend, two European Cup events took place in Ruka, the first aerial skiing competitions of the norther winter.
 
On day one, Peel led an Australian clean sweep of the podium with 94.82 points for her triple twisting double back somersault, with Abbey Willcox in second after scoring 78.12 for her full-full jump, with Danielle Scott in third on 76.49 for her triple twisting double back somersault. VIS aerial skier Miriana Perkins also qualified for the final, finishing in sixth place.
 
On day two, Peel made it back-to-back victories, performing the same triple twisting double back somersault in the final scoring 90.24 points, to finish ahead of Canada Marion Thenault on 87.42, and Willcox in third with 77.12 points. Scott chose not to compete in the second event.
 
The first World Cup of the season will take place in Lake Placid, USA, on January 18-19,
 
Day One

Women
1st Laura Peel
2nd Abbey Willcox
3rd Danielle Scott
6th Miriana Perkins
10th Airleigh Frigo
11th Sidney Stephens
12th Elise Coleiro

Men
26th Reilly Flanagan
 
Day Two

Women
1st Laura Peel
3rd Abbey Willcox
7th Elise Coleiro
10th Airleigh Frigo
12th Miriana Perkins
13th Sidney Stephens
 
Men
25th Reilly Flanagan

VIS aerial skier Danielle Scott has won her second straight World Cup season Crystal Globe after a silver medal performance in the final event of the season in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Scott now has 21 World Cup medals, and joins Australian aerial skiing legends Jacqui Cooper, Alisa Camplin, and Laura Peel as back-to-back World Cup Crystal Globe Champions.

Heading into the final event, Scott trailed Winter Vinecki of the USA by 12 points on the standings and needed to beat the American by a minimum of one place to move into first on the rankings.

The qualification round took place early in the morning under foggy conditions, but finals were cancelled in the afternoon due to the visibility further deteriorating making conditions unsafe. Results from the qualification round were subsequently used to determine the final results.

In the qualifying round, Scott scored 87.25 points for her full-full double twisting double back somersault jump, which put her in second place. Vinecki struggled with her full-full jump scoring only 71.50 points which put her in tenth place, allowing Scott to unexpectedly clinch the Crystal Globe by a comfortable margin.

Canadian Marion Thenault claimed the victory after scoring 94.11 points jumping a double full-full triple twisting double back somersault, with Fanyu Kong of China rounding out the podium in third with 82.21 points for her full-full.

The final standings saw Scott in first place on 420 points, with Vinecki in second with 378 and Thenault in third on 311.

“I am just so incredibly happy, this is a dream come true to go back-to-back and win the globe twice” said the 33-year-old Scott from NSW, who trains in Brisbane at the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre water jump facility.

“Every jump counts is I all I can think about right now, as in the qualification round the weather was much better and I did a nice jump and its paid off.”