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.
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.
RSS Feed
