David Morris has finished 10th in the men’s aerials final at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games and has “ticked a lot of boxes” in this Olympic campaign.

Morris, 33, did not progress to the second round of the final after scoring 111.95 for his back full – double full – full, putting him in tenth place. Only the top nine progressed to Final 2.

Morris was pleased with the jump he put down but the field produced high scoring jumps. The leader, Guangpu Qi of China was awarded 127.44 for his execution of the same trick.

“We tried our best, it is what it is. Tenth is a pretty sweet result and I’m happy with that,” Morris said.

“We’re in an Olympic final so that’s awesome and this competition is top class so even to be here is quite the privilege.”

Despite a deep landing, Morris was in contention to progress until the final competitor, America’s Jonathon Lillis, completed his jump and slotted into seventh place.

Tenth starter Zongyang Jia had a stumble at the tail end of his landing but still managed to scrape in above Morris.
Morris said his coach Jeff Bean spoke to the judges at the conclusion of the round for clarification.

“They said they’ve given (Jia) four metres of controlled skiing which is what you need after landing so… they discounted the last part because it’s not part of the jump so unfortunately we can’t really argue against that,” he said.

“That’s the rules, that’s fine. I’d love it if it was 10 metres or 20, or you had to ski out of the whole zone, but that’s not how it goes.

“(Judges) see it once in fast motion and have to make a very quick decision and it’s their decision and I’m fine with that.”
Ukrainian athlete Oleksandr Abramenko claimed gold with a score of 128.51 for a back full – full – double full, followed by Jia (CHN) winning silver and Ilia Burov (Olympic Athletes of Russia) finishing with bronze.

Morris made it into the final after succeeding in Saturday’s repechage round, where he finished second in the round.

The Sochi silver medalist was determined to perform a high difficulty five-twist jump he has recently mastered at the Olympic final, but was saving it for the Super Final of six from which the medal winners would be decided.

“I was just building up to it, we have a certain step process that we have to get to that skill.

“It was a little disappointing I didn’t get to do that in the comp, but as a career goal I wanted to do that on snow and land it and today I did that… so I’m very happy with that, that’s a big box ticked for me.

“I can walk out of here really proud of this year.”

Morris said that after Sochi Olympics in 2014 when he won silver, he was unsure whether he would continue with his sporting career.

However, this PyeongChang campaign had dispelled any doubt by allowing him to achieve new goals.

“Coming back I was wondering whether it was worth it after Sochi and the first two comps back I was second and third and I was number one in the world, and the next year was a world championship medal which I hadn’t got (before),” he said.

“Then this year I got three flips and five twists so progressively I got better and better so I’m really happy with my career as a whole and (now I will) take a bit of time off and reconsider what I want after that.”

Morris has shown great courage through adversity in recent times, with his mother being diagnosed with cancer just weeks prior to the PyeongChang Games.

However, Morris said his family agreed that the Olympics were his focus and that he should pursue his professional goals before returning home to Melbourne to be with his loved ones.

“The support I’ve had my whole career is fantastic so my message for mum is I’m safe, I’m healthy, I’m in one piece, I’m alive, I’ll come back and we can deal with everything as a family.”

Next, Morris will take time out at home to focus on personal matters before considering his next professional move.
However, he already has one eye on the future – just not his own, so to speak.

“I’m going to try to look into a bit of coaching, we have some development athletes at home that are in drastic need of some good coaching,” he said.

“I’ve been chatting to them helping them out a bit so it would be nice to get them on the right path and see how far that goes.

“I promise nothing, I’m happy at this point, I’ve ticked a lot of boxes in my career, but I enjoyed it so much that to come back in an environment like this would be amazing.

“It’s hard to leave this environment, like Lydia (Lassila) said this is what we’re used to we love this stuff.”

Candice Keller

Sochi silver medalist David Morris has qualified for the men’s aerials final at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.

Morris scored 124.89 for his second jump of the night, putting him into second place (of qualification 2) with four athletes still to complete their run and guaranteeing his final berth.
He already has eyes on Sunday night’s final and plans to deliver the high difficulty five-twist jump he has proudly mastered in a recent training camp in Ruka, Finland on the world stage.
“I’ve basically come here to do five twists and that’s my goal,” Morris said.
“I’m not after a medal as such and I know some people won’t like to hear that but five twists – a landed one – will get a medal.”
The trick, a double full - double full - full – best described as three flips and five twists – has only ever been performed by three other athletes with Morris eager to be the fourth.
“I’m here to perform that in front of a crowd, I’m going to hopefully get one done in practice … and hopefully make it through all the rounds and showcase it at the end and that will be awesome”
To ensure he can achieve that, Morris already has a plan underway.
“Recovery is key in this sport. If I can come out (in the final) fresher than everyone else out here because they didn’t recover properly or they were a bit more tired, that gives me a big advantage and just to be fresh in the brain, fresh in the body and come out and just get sendy again.”
Morris was thrilled with his execution of the back double full – full – full (a quad-twisting triple somersault) celebrating after completing the jump.
“(The jump) had to be big and straight and it was. We stepped up and went huge because there was no option to go small and sneak in with little mistakes,” he said.
“It was a huge relief to make it through qualifications, it’s the worst part of the competition.”
After finishing 15th in the first round of qualifying, the 2017 World Championship bronze medallist needed to produce an outstanding second jump in the repechage.
Starting 15th in a round of 19 athletes, Morris had seen the impressive scores of the rest of the field ahead of him, but managed to remain calm and focused on the task at hand.
“I will be honest, I was watching the scores in the second one and I was honestly thinking that I didn’t have a chance,” he said.
“Because they’re fantastic jumps and that’s great and if I lost to fantastic jumps like that, I’d be totally fine with that.”
In the first round Morris, 33, performed a back full – double full – full and was awarded a score of 112.83.
However, in the high scoring qualifier it was not enough to secure him automatic entry to Sunday night’s final with only the top six progressing after one jump.
Leading round one of qualifiers was American Jonathon Lillis (127.44) and China’s Guangpu Qi (126.70) and Zongyan Jia (126.55).
In an upset, Belarusian Anton Kushnir – who is currently ranked third in the World Cup series – did not qualify for the final, finishing in 13th place overall.
The men’s aerials final will be held on Day 9 (February 18) at 8pm local time (10pm AEST).
Candice Keller
olympics.com.au

Laura Peel has just missed out securing a fourth PyeongChang medal to Australia's tally after finishing fifth in the women’s aerials.

Peel attempted a Back Double Full-Full in the Super Final where she over-rotated and then back-slapped on her landing scoring 55.34.

Hanna Huskova of Belarus took the gold medal with a score of 96.14, ahead of Chinese duo Xin Zhang (95.52) and Fanyu Kong (70.41).

“My goal was to make the top six, the Super Final, and I did that,” Peel said.

“We did our best out there. I had a huge group of supporters in the crowd so I was definitely feeling the love. 

In difficult conditions the 2015 World Champion had trouble picking the wind all night.

“I was a bit slow on the first two jumps, I just squeaked out the second jump which I might not have done if I wasn’t in an Olympic Final.

“I took a step up to get a bit quicker for the final jump and got an extra 4km when we were hoping for 1.5km.
“I did what I could.”

Earlier, the dual Olympian moved through to Final 2 with a score of 85.05 for her Back Full-Full.

She then progressed to the Super Final with a Back Full Double-Full that scored 85.65 to head into the final six as the third ranked athlete.

Teammate Danielle Scott, needing to be in the top nine to progress from Final 1 to Final 2, backslapped while attempting a Back Full-Full.

The 2017 World Championship silver medallist scored 57.01 to finish the competition in 12th.

The duo had progressed through yesterday’s qualifications to make the final 12, while five-time Olympian Lydia Lassila and Samantha Wells missed the Finals finishing 14th and 17th.

Australia had won an aerials medal at each of the past four Winter Olympic Games with Alisa Camplin winning gold and bronze in 2002 and 2006, and Lydia Lassila winning gold and bronze in 2010 and 2014.

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

It might not have been the result she wanted to finish on but Lydia Lassila’s illustrious career simply won’t be judged on her final jumps at PyeongChang.

The 36-year-old has achieved it all over the past two decades and despite the initial disappointment of just missing tonight’s aerials finals, there is no doubt her legacy will live on in Australian sporting history.

“I really wanted to be in the final tonight and really should have been in the final but that is the nature of the beast,” said the inspirational mother-of-two.

“For me my story is over and that’s ok, I’m alright with that.

“I’m leaving this sport knowing who I am - a very strong independent individual that can get through any storm and on reflection it’s been wonderful.

“I’ve brought my family along for the ride which hasn’t been easy but we’ve benefited and had some wins from this process.” 

Lassila became the first women to compete in five Olympic Games in PyeongChang where she ended the competition in 14th.

The result followed two Winter Olympic Games where she claimed medals, becoming Olympic Champion in 2010 before she won bronze at Sochi 2014.

It was at her fourth Games where her determination to return from injury and eventually become the first woman to complete a quad-twisting triple somersault that continued to prove why she is an all-time legend.

“I’ve learnt how to be patient and it took me a long time to understand the concept of delayed gratification, of working hard for something to hope that it will pay off in the end.

“It certainly paid off in Vancouver and in Sochi and I was true to my word.

“That 19-year-old (that competed in 2002) hasn’t changed much in her will, determination and competitive drive she’s just learnt life lessons.”

Australian Olympic Team Chef de Mission, Ian Chesterman, was clearly emotional as he sat alongside Lassila to offer his thoughts on one the favourite athletes he has led over the past five Games.

“I want to emphasise the great legacy Lydia leaves," he said.

Olympic Winter Institute of Australia CEO Geoff Lipshut was equally high in his praise of Lassila.

“Lydia is the last of our all-time greats that is active,” Lipshut said.

“Alisa (Camplin), Dale (Begg-Smith), Torah (Bright) and Lydia. It’s been an absolute privilege.”

It will no doubt be hard for one of the nation’s most dogged competitors to watch from the sidelines but Lassila will be out cheering on both Laura Peel and Danielle Scott in the Aerials finals tonight.

“We’ve got two girls in the final and we’ve got to be happy for that.

“It’s important for us and important for them as they’ve worked very hard for that.”


Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

With Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 already under his belt, David Morris is ready to soar to new heights at his third Olympic Games at PyeongChang.

While the 33-year-old Sochi silver medallist undoubtedly feels the pressure ahead of Saturday’s qualifications, Morris said he’s taking the time to smell the roses.

“I’d never thought I’d make one [Olympics],” he said.

“I’m just out there having a good time. At the end of the day it’s still a win but to walk away with a medal would be fantastic.”

While the lead up to the first day of competition has been “less than ideal” as the Victorian adjusts to a new site and unpredictable winds, Morris says he just needs to “switch on a little bit more” and that all will be well.

“It’s challenging and it’s not insane,” he said.

“It’s a little bit of windy here but it keeps changing directions … [it’s] really hard for the coaches and athletes to adjust.

“We need very specific speeds and it makes it very challenging to do a nice jump when you have no idea what speed you’re going to hit the jump pad.”

If there’s one thing the aerial skier is looking forward to most about competing this week, it’s having the opportunity to showcase his skills in front of the world.

“I love big crowds, they get me going,” he said.

“I tend to pay more attention when people turn up, I like to show off.

“Being the third time around, there’s a lot more experience coming in and a little bit more pressure because I’ve done it once on a good day and they expect me to repeat it.

“I’m just enjoying myself because it’s a pretty awesome venue. I’m soaking it up, I want to remember being here and what it was like.”

While there might be the occasional bumpy landing, Morris is keen to assure those watching that it’s never as bad as it looks.

“We have a big chopped up landing hill, it’s quite steep so we don’t hit it flat,” he said.

“It can hurt but that’s the reason we are in the gym working out all the time. Our gym work isn’t so that we can do the skills, we go in to get strong so that when we mess up we can stand again.

“If you’re not strong enough to take the hit they [coaches] won’t send you off.”

Though the conditions have prevented Morris testing his five-twists, three-flips jump on the site he said he’s ready to pull it off should he make Sunday’s top six final.

Men’s aerials qualifications kick off on Saturday 17th February with finals on Sunday.

David Barden
olympics.com.au

Sochi Olympians Danielle Scott and Laura Peel have qualified for the women's Aerials finals on Friday night after a nail biting evening at Phoenix Snow Park. 

The first of the Aussies to hit the course, Scott progressed straight through to the finals after scoring 93.76 in her first qualification run. 

With Peel, dual Olympian Sam Wells and five-time Olympian Lydia Lassila finishing outside of the top 6 in teir first attempts, it all came down to the second qualification run to see which of the Aussie women would join Scott in the finals. 

After scoring 64.86 in her first run, 28-year-old Peel scored 89.46 in Run 2 and secured herself a spot in Friday's finals after finishing in third place. 

“I made a mistake on the first run today so hopefully thats out of the system," Peel said.

“You’re trying to think like it’s not the Olympics, its just any day and you’re trying to nail that jump.

"I feel confident that I still have good jumps [in the bag] and I just need to put them down tomorrow."

Making her fifth and final Olympic appearance, a crash by Vancouver 2010 bronze medallist Lassila saw her score 66.27 and finish in 14th place. 

"This is an outside sport and you can't control a lot of things and tonight I just couldn't control the speed," she said.
With an Olympic career spanning nearly two decades, Lassila said she was disappointed with her final Winter Games performance.

"It's a feeling of loss in a way ... you've lost an opportunity but that's sport and you've got to reflect on the good and happy moments that I've had with my kids, my family, my friends -- life is good," she said.

"Five olympics, I never thought I'd go to five, never win a a gold.

"I love this ... I'll miss it."

The 37-year-old added that while she was "bummed" about Thursday's result, she was incredibly proud of herself and happy to finish her World Cup career prior to PyeongChang with a gold and bronze in Lake Placid, USA.

"It's been a wild ride to bring the boys along and have them at training camps and just prove that you can do it as a mother ... you can do it all," she said.

"I'm really proud of that campaign that I could manage to do that, it's not easy. It's not easy for an athlete that's 17-years-old with no responsibilities but for a 36-year-old with real-life responsibilities, it's a challenge to make sure that no-one is missing out on anything, that everyone has got their needs met, not just myself."

Teammate Laura Peel said that Lassila was an "incredible woman" who has "done so much" for Aerial Skiing in Australia.

Wells finished in 17th place with a score of 58.27. 

David Barden
olympics.com.au

FREESTYLE SKIING: Nothing can stop Australia’s freestyle aerial skiers from throwing their biggest tricks at PyeongChang 2018. Not weather, not pressure, and not fear.

After landing in South Korea on Tuesday, the team – made up of veteran Lydia Lassila, David Morris, Laura Peel, Samantha Wells and Danielle Scott – are excited about the week of competition ahead.

An intensive training camp in Ruka, Finland, over the past several weeks has put the squad in a strong position to compete for places in the Super 6 final, and even an Olympic medal.

David Morris, who will make his third Olympic appearance in PyeongChang, completed one of the most difficult tricks in freestyle aerial skiing just last week and he won’t be holding back from throwing it again in PyeongChang.

“It’s a medal winning jump, obviously landing is crucial but if I get into the top 6 there’s no way I’m not doing that skill,” Morris said.

The trick, a double full/double full/full – best described as three flips and five twists – has only ever been performed by three other athletes with Morris eager to be the fourth.

It’s with a sense of relief and accomplishment that Morris wants everyone to know he’s ‘peaking at the right time’, he’s ready to land the hardest skill he’s ever done and in reality, it was pretty easy.

“I’ve been ready for quite a while, I just had to man up and do it and it was easier than I thought it would be, but very very scary,” he said.

“I haven’t come all (that) way to just back down at the last minute. I think even if the weather’s not perfect, I’m still throwing that down.

“My coach is like ‘if there’s an opportunity to change it to an easier one maybe we’ll go easier’, I’m like ‘no’.

“I don’t feel like it’s dangerous to do anymore… if I’m in the super final obviously you’ve been landing and you’re on fire and there isn’t any reason why we wouldn’t do it after that so I wouldn’t have any hesitation.”

Morris’ courage and commitment is shared by the team, who come into PyeongChang with varied experience.

Peel made her Olympic debut at Sochi 2014 where she finished seventh, and since then has consolidated her performance.

“I still have the same basic self, same foundation (and) still the same beliefs but I feel a lot more prepared, a lot more confident, I’m more consistent with my tricks and there are a lot of similarities of course but now I feel more prepared and more myself and ready to go after it, “she said.

Teammate Scott is primed to perform a quadruple-twisting double somersault; she is the first Australian woman to complete the trick on snow.

“If I get to the round where I need it (I’ll do it) for sure,” she said.

“I think I was the first Aussie to do it on snow, but both Lydia and I have done it recently so it’s pretty exciting… I’ll definitely take advantage of being able to do that if I get the opportunity to.”

For Lassila, her tactics are a little different. She has four Winter Olympic Games on her CV already and after Sochi 2014 she even took a break from the sport.

However her passion and motivation for aerials didn’t weaken, nor did her body. And so she decided to line up again, putting herself in contention for a place on the Australian Olympic Team.

The dual Olympic medallist (gold Vancouver 2010, bronze Sochi 2014) recently claimed a first and a second place at Lake Placid World Cups in the United States, but she’s approaching things a little differently in her final Olympic campaign.

“Some athletes will go big which is really exciting, but it won’t be me. I’m kind of weening out so I’m on the double, which is a lot less stressful on my body and mind,” she said.

“(I’m) still competitive on the double… I’ve got some consistency there, I’ve got some experience there obviously.

“Anyone can make a mistake so my aim is to just keep consistent and not make any big mistakes.”

Second timer Wells said the secret to Australian freestyle skiers keeping their calm under pressure was nothing more than good old fashioned banter.

“It helps to keep it a bit lighter when things get a bit more stressful,” she said.

And in the end, it could come down to the conditions on the day. Morris has said he won’t be swayed by the weather, but for the majority of the field PyeongChang could prove to be one of the toughest challenges yet.

“Weather and wind is obviously a factor that this place is known for, and that does effect us so fingers crossed mother nature cooperates with us and I think it will be really good,” Scott said.

Freestyle skiing aerials starts with women’s qualifications on Day 6 (Thursday 15 February) with women’s finals on Day 7 (Friday 16 February) and men’s finals on Day 9 (Sunday 18 February).

Candice Keller

As an underdog at the Sochi 2014 Games he put landed a series of jumps that saw him claim Australia’s first men’s aerials medal, a silver, in Olympic competition.
Then after a poor 2016/17 World Cup season by his own high standards, Morris put it together when he needed to, to claim World Championships bronze.
Now just a fortnight out from competing in his third Olympic Games he has landed the hardest jump there is in the book.
Comprising of three flips and five twists, Morris successfully landed the jump at the Australian aerials team’s pre-Olympic training camp in Ruka, Finland.
Morris had been successfully practicing the jump off the water ramps in Utah but was waiting for the right conditions to try it on snow.
“Unleashing the secret weapon before the main event,” Morris said on his Instagram.
“Today the weather was perfect so I decided to go for it."
“It’s a career first, an Australian first, and the reason I returned to the sport.
“I’ll give myself the benefit of not being perfect straight away and I know I can make this a lot better.”
Now the focus turns to doing it in his next competition – the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
Morris competes in qualification on Day 8 (February 17) before finals take place the following night. 
Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

The athlete selected to carry the nation’s flag at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony will make their team and country proud, the Chef de Mission says.

Ian Chesterman, six-time Winter Olympic Chef de Mission for the Australian team, said that the country’s field of 51 athletes had presented several strong contenders for flagbearer who athletes and supporters would endorse.

“I think the important thing is… when we announce the flagbearer is that it will resonate strongly with the Australian Team and that it will resonate strongly with the Australian public,” Chesterman said.

 “That’s in a large part because Australian winter sport athletes have been doing so well around the world and I’m lucky to have a number of athletes to choose from to carry the flag.

“I’ve been lucky enough to choose six flagbearers and you always have to work out… who would like to do it and who you think would be good to do it for them for their own performance.”

Although freestyle aerial skier and five-time Olympian Lydia Lassila declined the opportunity to be the Australian flagbearer for PyeongChang 2018, Chesterman said her role within the team was not diminished.

“Lydia was obviously a standout candidate to carry the flag; she’s a five-time Olympian, she’s a gold medallist, a bronze medallist and a legend of the sport – of aerial skiing and winter sports overall.

“We understand that the most important thing for an athlete is to produce the best result that they want, that they’ve worked so hard for four years and in Lydia’s case, nearly 20 years as an elite athlete.

“So (we are) totally supportive of her decision to focus on her commitment to be the best that she can be on her day but I also know that Lydia will play a great role within the Australian Team anyway because she’s a great Team member, has been over the last four Games and I’m very confident that she will be again these games in PyeongChang.”

Lassila, 36, is still a chance to carry the flag at the Closing Ceremony, as she did in Sochi 2014.

Chesterman hoped it would be another tough choice for team officials courtesy of a strong performance by the Team overall.

“The Closing Ceremony traditionally goes to the person that had a great result at the Games so I’d love Lydia Lassila to be in that situation - wouldn’t that be a fitting finale for her to carry that flag?

“But there’s a lot of water to flow under the bridge between now and then and I hope I have a number of candidates to choose from when I have to decide who carries the flag at the Closing Ceremony.”

Chesterman said the Australian athletes were settling in to PyeongChang smoothly, and many were excited by the snowfall early on Saturday morning.

“We’ve gradually got athletes arriving, those of us who have been here for a while are enjoying the Village, it’s a very good setup.

“I was down at the Coastal Village yesterday and that’s a really magnificent set up for those athletes. It’s a comfortable environment, the Koreans are doing a great job in welcoming us and everyone’s feeling like they’re part of winter today with a little bit of snow falling.”

Candice Keller
olympics.com.au