VIS aerial skier Danielle Scott has returned to competition in the best possible way, taking the gold medal in Deer Valley, USA, her first event since the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.
 
The 30-year-old dual World Championship medallist scored 90.59 points with her back double full-full (a triple twisting double back somersault), to record the fourth victory and eleventh podium performance of her World Cup career.
 
Scott made great progress in her return to sport training at the new world class Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre Water Ramp facility located at Brisbane’s Sleeman Sports Centre.
 
World number one Laura Peel won both of the earlier rounds and was the only female in the super final to jump triple back somersaults. Peel had issues with her speed on her final jump with the snow conditions constantly changing in the sun and was unable to complete her nominated jump and received no score from the judges to put her in sixth place.
 
“I am beside myself, this is crazy, it’s been a long time since competing and I love this sport and this is probably the best welcome back ever”, Scott said.
 
“Today was good, it was interesting with the conditions, but I started off training really well, put down a good qualifying jump, continued on with training and finals and put down everything I needed to.
 
“This is a good confidence boost for the World Championships next month, this is obviously my first competition back so I needed that and I am really excited for what’s ahead.”
 
Rounding out the podium was American Winter Vinecki in second place with her teammate Kaila Kuhn in third.
 
Scott and Peel's VIS teammate Gabi Ash also had a successful first event of her season in Deer Valley, with a personal best seventh place finish, giving Australia three top ten performances.
 
With one World Cup remaining for the season, Peel maintains her lead as the number one aerial skier in the world with 410 points, with Winter Vinecki the only possible challenger for the Crystal Globe, trailing on the standings by 67 points.

The aerial skiing athletes will head to Almaty, Kazakhstan, for the World Championships on March 10 and World Cup final at the same location on March 13.
 
IMAGE: Dani Scott standing on the winner dais at Deer Valley  © US Ski Team

Australia’s world number one aerial skier Laura Peel has won her fourth World Cup medal of the season, taking silver under lights at the Raubichi (Minsk) jump site in Belarus.

The 31-year-old World Champion from Canberra placed fourth in the qualification round before stepping it up in the first round of finals jumping her signature triple back somersaults to advance to the medal round in first place.

Peel was one of two female jumpers to perform a triple somersault in the medal round, scoring 89.04 points with her full-tuck-full jump narrowly missing out on victory by the small margin of 0.84 points.

Taking the win was Megan Nick of the USA with 89.88 points, with her American teammate Winter Vinecki in third place with 88.12 points.

"Happy to take silver after a tough week of training", Peel posted after the event.

In the aerial skiing World Cup standings, Peel has increased her lead as number one in the world with 370 points after five competitions. Winter Vinecki is in second place with 263 points Megan Nick in third place with 238 points.

The aerial skiing World Cup tour will now head to Deer Valley, UT, USA, for the next round of competition on the prestigious 2002 Olympic course.

It was another successful event  for VIS world number one Laura Peel at the World Cup aerial skiing event in Moscow, Russia, narrowly missing the win with a silver medal under lights for her third medal of the season.
 
The 31-year-old World Champion from Canberra placed first in both the qualification and first round of finals at the spectacular scaffold venue.
 
Peel was the only female to perform triple somersault in the medal round, scoring 92.72 points with her newest triple twisting triple somersault (Full-Full-Full) jump which was extremely unlucky not to score higher.
 
Taking the win was American Winter Vinecki with 94.11 points, with Marion Thenault of Canada in third place with 90.59
 
“I am making progress, very happy to have landed my first Full-Full-Full in competition”, Peel said after the event.
 
In the aerial skiing World Cup standings Peel maintained the world number one yellow leader’s bib on top of the field with a 290 points after four competitions. With her victory in Moscow, Winter Vinecki moves into second place with 203 points, with her American teammate Ashley Caldwell in third place with 190 points.
 
Peel will be back in action next weekend competing in another night time city event in Minsk, Belarus, on January 30.
 
IMAGE: Laura Peel soaring high above Moscow © FIS

It was another golden performance for Australia’s Laura Peel overnight at the World Cup aerial skiing event in Yaroslavl, Russia, under lights taking victory for the second consecutive time this season.
 
The 31 year old World Champion from Canberra was the only female to perform triple somersault in the medal round, scoring 96.59 points with her full-tuck-full jump.
 
“I competed in my first ever World Cup 10 years ago today and celebrated the occasion with a win in Yaroslavl today”, Peel said after claiming the sixth World Cup victory of her career.
 
“It has been one hell of a ride, and we get to do it all again tomorrow.”
Behind Peel on the podium was American Ashley Caldwell (96.23) in second and Liubov Nikitina of Russia (93.41) in third.
 
Peels teammate Abbey Willcox qualified for finals in eighth place but was unable to take part after crashing her last jump in finals training and injuring her knee.
 
In the aerial skiing World Cup standings Peel maintained the world number one yellow leader’s bib on top of the field with a perfect 200 points after two competitions. Emma Weiss of Germany sits in second place with 109 points, with Ashley Caldwell in third place with 100 points.
 
Peel will be back in action tomorrow competing in the second World Cup event in Yaroslavl.

It was a golden World Cup opener for Australia’s Laura Peel at the FIS Aerial Skiing event in Ruka, Finland, this morning (Australia time).
 
The 2019-2020 World Cup Champion and world number one from Canberra had an impressive day, finishing in first place in each stage of the competition, and was the only female competitor to jump triple somersaults.
 
Peel qualified for finals in first place scoring 88.51 points with a full-full, double twisting double back somersault.
 
In the first round of finals, Peel increased her degree of difficulty to jump a lay-tuck-full, single twisting triple back somersault scoring a huge 101.28 points, her highest score of the day.
 
In the super final medal round, Peel added an extra twist to her triple back somersault, performing a full-tuck-full jump scoring 83.87 points to record victory ahead of German Emma Weiss with a score of 80.95 with Russian Anastasiia Prytkova rounding out the podium with 71.53 points.
 
“It’s amazing to be back on snow competing”, commented Peel after stepping off the podium.
 
“We’ve had so many question marks surrounding whether or not the season would go ahead, so we’re all stoked to be back out there jumping. Starting the season off with a win is a dream.”
 
“I didn’t nail the landing on my final jump, but I was pushing the DD and tonight that paid off. I know I can’t rely on that though, so I’m motivated to keep working out all the details in training.”
 
“Last season we started working on my triples with the goal of Beijing 2022 in mind, that’s still the goal and I’m just focusing on doing my best jumps to be as best prepared as I can be when the Olympics roll around.”
 
“I’m really happy with the work that I’ve done on the triple over the last year. I’m also excited to have a bit more time on snow and bring over some of the work from my summer training.”
 
“I am definitely excited to hold on to the leaders bib, any day in yellow is a good day.”
 
The performance marks the fifth World Cup victory of the 31 year old athletes career (5 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze).
 
The next stop currently scheduled on the World Cup tour for the aerial skiing athletes will take place in Yaroslavl, Russia, on January 16-17.

The Aerial Skiing program completed training camps at the Snow Australia water ramp facility in Victoria’s Yarra Ranges throughout May and June, before travelling to Mt Buller to train at the Olympic Training Centre facilities at the start of July.
 
The program relocated to NSW in mid-July following COVID restrictions being implemented in Victoria. The athletes and staff remained in Jindabyne throughout the domestic winter training on snow at Thredbo and utilising the acrobatic facilities onsite at Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre (JS&RC).
 
The highlight of the year was no doubt the opening of the Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre at Brisbane’s Sleeman Sports Centre. Australia’s freestyle skiers finally have a world class water jump in our own backyard.
 
Danielle Scott, Abbey Wilcox, Gabi Ash and Aerleigh Frigo commenced training at the new Henke Centre facility in late September, under the guidance of Olympic Silver Medalist and coach David Morris. The athletes plan to transfer the jumps from water to snow during the northern hemisphere winter.
 
Current World Cup Champion Laura Peel relocated to Switzerland at the start of July, completing a full summer of water ramp training, and then an on snow jumping block on the glacier in Saas Fee.
 
Peel will be the only Australian aerial skier in action in the opening World Cup of the season this weekend in Ruka, Finland, with her teammates continuing to train at the Henke Centre in Brisbane.

In the lead-up to the 2020/21 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup season we'll be interviewing some of last season's crystal globe winners to find out what they've been up to in the off-season, what they're looking forward as we head into winter, and hopefully a little bit more about what it's like behind the scenes for some of snowboarding's top riders. Today we're catching up with 2019/20 aerials crystal globe winner Laura Peel of Australia…

At the final event of the 2019/20 season in Krasnoyarsk (RUS) Peel grabbed her second victory of the campaign to put the icing on the cake of the most successful season of her career, as the 30-year-old member of the “Flying Kangaroos” team clinched her first aerials World Cup crystal globe. It took Peel almost 10 years of competing on the World Cup tour to finally finish the season on the number one spot. In almost a decade on tour the Aussie skier managed to reach some very impressive milestones including 13 World Cup podiums and four victories, as well as the 2015 FIS World Championships gold medal from Kreischberg (AUT).

FIS - You have worked very hard to earn your first crystal globe this past season. What did this victory mean to you? Also what was going on inside your head when you won the final event in Krasnoyarsk and clinched the World Cup title?
Laura Peel - Winning a crystal globe had been a goal of mine for almost a decade and it came down to the very last event of the 19/20 season. Putting that final jump to my feet in Krasnoyarsk and walking away with a World Cup win and the globe was a combination of relief and pure bliss. 

FIS - What made this past campaign so special and what was the decisive factor that drove you to the top of the World Cup ranking?
LP - The 19/20 season was pretty special for me for a couple of reasons. Obviously, I won the globe which has been a career goal for a long time, but I also competed triples for the first time. Hitting the biggest jump is a milestone in any aerialist’s career, being able to compete them at every World Cup event throughout the season and pushing both my physical and mental limits is something that I’m very proud of, and ultimately it paid off! 

FIS - Your first start at World Cup was back in 2011. What is the most memorable moment for you in what has been almost 10 years on tour now?
LP - After almost a decade on the World Cup circuit I’ve been lucky enough to reach some pretty cool milestones and create a lot of memories with a lot of great people. Of course, the Olympics will always be special, and my 2015 World Championship win but so far my 19/20 season tops the list, I was jumping the way I had wanted to jump for a long time and will hopefully be able to carry that forward into this season as well!

FIS - Obviously it was an off-season unlike any we’ve ever seen before, with the pandemic going on. What did you do to stay level and stay focused even with everything going on in the world?
LP - Things were definitely very different this off-season. We were lucky enough to squeeze-in our last World Cup event in March before everything got shut down, but after that things looked very different. I went home to Australia where I trained at home while I waited for international borders to open up again, that never really happened, but fortunately I was able to get over to Switzerland to start training with my coach in July. It hasn’t been easy being away from home for so long, but I just try to focus on the bigger picture and keep perspective - we’re very fortunate that we’re able to train and compete this season! 

FIS - Going into a new season with World Championships in February, what are your main focus points? Will another crystal globe be on the list of goals? World Championships medal?
LP - Of course going into this season I’d love to walk away with another globe and a World Champs medal, but early on in the season I’m just trying to focus on the process. I hoping to do a new jump this season, so really want to dial in the basics so I can start pushing my DD (Degree of Difficulty). 

FIS - What is it that you love most about aerial skiing?
LP - I love that aerial skiing pushes me to my absolute limit, it’s pretty cool to see how far you can go, and usually it’s a lot further than you think. I also love being outside in nature and traveling to some really interesting and amazing places.

ARTICLE COURTESY OF FIS

Crystal Globes winners, snowboarder Scotty James and aerial skier Laura Peel, were today named the joint winners of the Olympic Athlete of the Year title for the 2020 Snow Australia Awards.
 
After an outstanding Northern winter that saw them both finish the season ranked number one in the World, the pair once again have been named joint winners of the award, previously sharing the title in 2015. 
 
Triple Olympian James now becomes the first person in history of the Snow Australia Awards to win the Athlete of the Year Award four times.
 
It was an extraordinary season for both athletes, with dual Olympian Peel claiming her career first Crystal Globe, and James becoming the overall season champion for the third time.
 
Peel finished the season with two gold, one silver and one bronze medal, in her first year jumping triple back somersaults.
 
The 30-year-old Canberra local said that this season far exceeded the expectations she had set for herself before it commenced.
 
“It was a great season - was pretty magic for me,” Peel said.
 
“I went in doing triples and completing triples for the first time - so the goal wasn’t to win the Crystal Globe, it was to gain some experience doing triples.
 
“But that (winning the Crystal Globe) has been a dream of mine pretty much since I started the sport so this was a really amazing season,” she said.
 
James successfully defended his X-Games titles and won the Dew Tour event in Copper Mountain. He qualified first in every World Cup event, before going on to finish the season with three golds and one silver World Cup medals.
 
James echoed Peel’s sentiments, adding that he feels extremely honoured to be named Athlete of the Year amongst some great talent in his fellow finalists.
 
“It’s getting harder every year to win this award, so each year brings a different excitement,” James said.
 
“I’m very happy to be the winner of this award, alongside Laura again. She’s been amazing and I’ve been watching from afar. As winter athletes we don’t get to be together that often so it’s been good to watch and support each other from afar.”
 
Snow Australia Chief Executive Officer Michael Kennedy said he couldn’t think of two more deserving winners for the title of Athlete of the Year (Olympic Disciplines) than Scotty and Laura.
 
“Scotty and Laura had fantastic seasons. They are both pushing themselves and their sport to the next level,” Kennedy said.
 
“Scotty’s consistent results made him unstoppable this season and it’s great to see him once again be crowned our Athlete of the Year,” he said.
 
“As for Laura, she now joins Aerials royalty in becoming World Cup Champion joining the greats of our sport in Kirstie Marshall, Jacqui Cooper, Alisa Camplin and Lydia Lassila in that honour.
 
The Athlete of the Year award caps off what has been a fantastic celebration of Australia’s snowsports athletes as part of the 2020 Snow Australia Awards online.
 
For a full list of Award winners - click here.
 

Australian aerial skier Laura Peel has won gold overnight at the Siberian resort of Krasnoyarsk, Russia, securing her first ever FIS World Cup champion title.
 
The World Cup title is the tenth “crystal globe” won by Australian aerial skiers, with Peel joining legends of the sport Kirstie Marshall, Jacqui Cooper, Alisa Camplin and Lydia Lassila as World Cup champions.
 
Before the competition Peel was sitting just 44 points ahead of China’s Xu Mengtao in the women’s World Cup ranking, with the final jumps of the season deciding who would take home the overall season title.
 
When Xu failed to land her jump cleanly in the first round of finals and missed the cut into the top six final round, it was clear that Peel would be victorious. Despite having secured the crystal globe in the middle of the competition, Peel still stepped it up on her final attempt on the day. As the last athlete in the women’s competition, the 2015 World Champion from Canberra executed her most difficult full-tuck-full triple somersault perfectly to win the competition with a final score of 96.99 points.
 
“It’s hard to put it into words at the moment,” said Peel, “I honestly couldn’t be happier right now.
 
“It’s my first globe and it’s been almost 10 years working towards it. I have a great team around me and I’m super stoked with the result today.”
 
Behind Peel on the podium was China's Xu Sicun with a score of 95.86 in second place and American Ashley Caldwell in third with 88.83 points.
 
In winning gold, the performance marks the 13th World Cup podium of the 30 year old athletes career (4 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze).
 
Peel’s teammate Abbey Willcox also reached the top six super final finishing in fifth place, ending the season ranked a personal best seventh place on the World Cup standings.

VIS Aerial Skier Laura Peel has moved into number one on the World Cup standings with one event remaining, after finishing fourth in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Peel qualified for finals in first place, and went through to the medal final also in first, but unfortunately missed her landing on her Full-Tuck-Full triple back somersault, just missing the podium by one place.

Taking the win was Nadiya Mokhnatska of the Ukraine, with American Megan Nick in second, and local skier Zhanbota Aldabergenova of Kazakhstan in third.

Ahead of the final event, Peel sits in first in place on the World Cup standings with 369 points, with Mengtao Xu of China in second with 325 points, and Aliaksandra Ramanouskaya from Belarus third with 260 points.

Abbey Willcox finished in 14th place, and currently sits 12th on the standings.

The final event of the season will take place in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, on March 8th.

Australian aerial skier Laura Peel has claimed victory overnight at the FIS World Cup event at the Raubichi ski resort in Minsk, Belarus, recording her first gold medal and third podium performance of the season.
 
The 2015 World Champion from Canberra achieved the highest jump score of her career to win gold, scoring a huge 106.53 points with her full-tuck-full, double twisting, triple backflip somersault.  
 
Rounding out the podium was Mengtao Xu of China, and her teammate Sicun Xu in third.
 
“It’s an amazing feeling”, an excited Peel commented after the event.
 
“I’ve definitely been wanting to crack the 100 point mark for a while, I came pretty close last week. But to put down my best jumps when it matters is awesome, all the hard work is coming together.”
 
“It was tough out there, last week we weren’t sure if the event would even be able to go ahead but everyone put in a lot of work so we could jump tonight. We didn’t get a lot of training jumps and today we had some wind and rain, but I think it’s those kind of moments where my experience really pays off.”
 
“We’ve got two events left and I want to keep doing my best jumps and gain more and more experience on the triple.”
 
The performance marks the third World Cup victory of the VIS athletes career (3 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze).
 
Following the victory, Peel has now moved up into second place on the FIS World Cup standings with two events remaining in the season. Peel is on 319 points, just 6 points behind World Cup leader Mengtao Xu of China.

Unfortunately VIS teammate Abbey Willcox was unable to compete after sustaining an injury during training.

The next stop on the World Cup tour for the aerial skiing athletes will take place next weekend in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

VIS aerial skier Laura Peel has claimed a silver medal in a spectacular city venue located in downtown Moscow, Russia, her second World Cup podium performance of the season.
 
The 2015 World Champion from Canberra performed one of the best triple back somersaults of her career in the first round of finals, with her lay-tuck-full jump scoring 98.68 points to advance to the super final in first place.
 
In the super final medal round, Peel increased her degree of difficulty, adding an extra twist to her triple, competing a full-tuck-full jump. Peel scored 91.42 points to finish in second place, with Belarusian Hannah Huskova taking the win and Russian Sofia Alekseeva rounding out the podium in third place.
 
“I’m really happy with how my season is going,” Peel commented after the event.
 
“The plan going in was to qualify for finals with my triple twisting doubles and keep them at a high standard and then compete triples for finals. It’s my first year on the triple and I’m getting a lot of awesome experience, and I’m excited for what’s to come.”
 
“It was an awesome set up jumping in the city. There was a big crowd and fireworks, they really made it a show which was a lot of fun.”
 
“We had six women jumping triple backflips in the final and that’s really cool to see. The women’s field is continuing to push and that’s exciting for the sport. “
 
In taking silver, the performance marks the 11th World Cup podium of the 30 year old athletes career (2 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze).
 
With two events remaining in the season, Laura Peel is currently ranked third on the FIS World Cup standings, with teammate Abbey Willcox in seventh, after finishing 14th in Moscow.
 
The next stop on the World Cup tour for the aerial skiing athletes will take place next weekend in Raubichi, Belarus. 

Abbey Willcox has had a breakthrough performance to claim the first World Cup medal of her career, winning bronze under lights in Deer Valley, USA.
 
The 23 year old VIS athlete qualified for finals in fourth place, and finished in fifth place in the first round of finals to advance to the top six super final.
 
Willcox landed her lay-full double back somersault in the super final, to give her 81.78 points and the bronze medal, with 2019 World Champion Aliaksandra Ramanouskaya of Belarus taking victory with a big score of 106.74, and American Megan Nick in second place with 83.89 points.
 
“It feels absolutely unreal and to be doing it in Deer Valley with this crowd is amazing,” an excited Willcox said after the event.
 
“A lot of nerve’s, a lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement.”
 
“It was my first time in the finals and on the podium so I had all sorts of emotions going on.”
 
“We has a couple of tricky days training, it was snowing a lot and I knew I could jump during the snow, during the wind because we’ve had a lot of practice for that in the past, so I just took it jump by jump.”
 
“I’m really excited for the next four world cups and the season and I can’t wait.”
 
2015 Australian World Champion Laura Peel qualified for finals in third place, but unfortunately fell on her triple back somersault in the first round of finals, finishing in ninth place.

Also competing for Australian in her second World Cup was VIS athlete Gabi Ash, who finished in 20th position.
 
After three events, Laura Peel is currently ranked third in the world, with Willcox moving up to sixth on the FIS World Cup standings.
 
The next stop on the World Cup tour for the aerial skiing athletes will take place in Moscow, Russia, with a spectacular city event, with the aerial site made out of scaffolding and snow trucked in.

Australian aerial skier Laura Peel has claimed a bronze medal at the 2019/2020 World Cup season opener at Shimao Lotus Mountain in China.
 
The VIS athlete performed her first ever triple back somersaults in competition with great success, scoring 87.92 points in the first round of finals with a lay-tuck-full, and 86.65 in the medal round with a full-tuck-full.
 
In taking bronze, the performance marks the tenth World Cup podium of the 30 year old athletes career (2 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze).
 
“It’s an amazing start to the season. Competing with triples at a World Cup was a big milestone of mine, and to come away with a podium makes it even sweeter.”
 
“The conditions were really good. We all took a couple of days to adjust to a much steeper landing hill than what we had been training on in Finland, but the sun was out and there was minimal wind which made conditions great for jumping.”
 
Peel finished narrowly behind Belarus aerialist Aliaksandra Ramanousk 93.44 and China’s Mengtao Xu scoring 105.53 with the judges.
 
For Peel there’s a busy season ahead after a short Christmas break.
 
“After tomorrow, I’m looking forward to enjoying some R&R over Christmas. Then my team start training again in Switzerland in January ahead of the next World Cup in Moscow, Russia.”

Also in action for Australia was Abbey Willcox, who finished in 14th place, just missing the 12 woman final.

A second World Cup event also took place at Shimao Lotus Mountain, with a one jump competition being held on day two, before a team World Cup event that Australia did not feature in.

Peel landed another triple back somersault, a lay-tuck-full, narrowly missing the podium by less than a point in fourth place.

Abbey Willcox had a personal best World Cup finish of 12th.

The next event for Australia's aerial skiing athletes will be in Moscow, Russia, on January 25.

VIS Aerial Skier Laura Peel has won the second World Cup event of her career, after finishing on top in Shimao Lotus Mountain, China.

Her result was a well-deserved reward after a second place finish in Moscow just two weeks ago.

Peel qualified for the final in fourth place with a 84.42 point full-full jump, and used the same jump to progress to the top six super final.

In the super final, Peel stepped up her degree of difficulty, performing a 96.58 full-double full jump to easily take the victory, 14.8 points ahead of second place.

“I couldn’t be happier with how today went! We had some really tricky conditions with the temperature in double digits, and some swirling winds," Peel said of her second World Cup win.

"I'm very grateful to my coaches for getting my speed right on all my jumps and super stoked I was able to put all my jumps down.”

Peel placed 10th the following day during the second event, while teammate Abbey Willcox finished 15th in the first event and 14th in the second and first year VIC World Cup program athlete Brittany George placed 16th in the first and 13th in the second.

With China the final stop in the World Cup season, Peel has finished a personal best third in the world on the standings, improving on her previous best of fourth achieved in 2012 and 2013.

IMAGE - A happy Laura Peel with her gold medal in China © Laura Peel Instagram

olympics.com.au

VIS Aerial Skier Laura Peel has finished in 11th place at the World Cup event in Minsk, Belarus, maintaining her fourth place world ranking with one event left in the season.

The VIS skier made a strong start to the event, qualifying in second place for the final with a 88.20 full-full jump, but unfortunatley missed her landing in the final to finish in 11th place.

Peel said she was disappointed to not put down the jump she'd hoped for in the finals.

“I am a bit disappointed about the result. I jumped well in qualifications, but unfortunately had a bit of trouble landing in finals," she said.

Abbey Willcox recorded a personal best World Cup finish of 13th, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 12-woman final after scoring 75.98 on her lay-full jump.

OWIA Apprentice Coach David Morris was satisfied with solid performances by the pair considering their preparation.

“Laura and Abbey both jumped very well given they had very little training leading into the competition day.

"As a coaching group we are very impressed they were able to perform so well after being sick leading into the event,” he said.

Also in Minsk, a syncro team event was held, with the team of Peel and Willcox finishing in third place after competing their lay-full jump at the same time off different jumps.

The Flying Kangaroos Australian Aerial Ski Team now head to China, for the final World Cup event of the year on March 2nd.

IMAGE - Laura Peel and Abbey Willcox (right) on the podum at the syncro team event in Minsk © Abbey Willcox Instagram

Dual-Olympian Laura Peel claimed silver at the Moscow Aerial Skiing World Cup over the weekend, with the 2015 World Champion now sitting third in the World Cup standings.
The VIS athlete qualified in first at the event, before taking out round one of finals with the highest scoring (97.99) double somersault of the competition.
In the second final, Peel performed a double full-full, giving her a score of 97.64 and earning her the silver medal behind the current World Champion Belarus' Aliaksandra Ramanouskya, at 105.93 with a double twisting triple somersault.
It's been a steady rise for the highest ranked Australian female PyeongChang 2018 Olympian, who recently was very unlucky to miss the podium in fourth place at the World Championships in Deer Valley.
After winning her first medal of the season, Peel told FIS TV she was thrilled with a memorable podium finish.
"I was really happy with my jumps today, I put down the best I could and came away with second place so I'm super happy to be on the podium," she said.
"Through each round I put down a really solid jump. I stuck to my plan and completed both my triple twisting doubles. It couldn't have gone better.
"It felt super-sweet after just missing that podium in Deer Valley last weekend," she finished.

After her medal, the 29-year-old posted on social media, "Happy. Proud. Grateful. Second place for me at this weekend’s World Cup! Thanks for the memories Moscow."

The Flying Kangaroos Australian Aerial Ski Team now head to Minsk, Belarus, for the next World Cup event on February 23.

IMAGES
Top -The spectacular jump site in Moscow
Bottom - Laura Peel (left) celebrates on the Moscow Podium
© FIS - Alexey Shabanov

olympics.com.au

The Flying Kangaroos Australian Aerial Ski Team has competed in a number of warm-up events in Lake Placid, NY, USA, ahead of the World Championships in Deer Valley, UT, USA, on February 6th.

With only the one World Cup prior to the World Championships, a strong field was in attendance with all countries looking to get extra competition starts before the main event of the season.

In Lake Placid, the team competed in the US National Championships and in the first of two Nor-Am events.

In the US National Championships, VIS athlete Laura Peel scored an 81.78 to take second place, with team-mates Abbey Willcox 11th and Brittany George 21st. In the men’s event, Wesley Naylor finished 25th.

Britt George and Abbey Willcox where the only Australians competing in the Nor-Am. VIS skier George secured her first career Continental Cup victory finishing in first place, and Wilcox just missed finals in seventh.

The Flying Kangaroos will now head to Utah, USA, to prepare for the World Championships.

IMAGE - Laura Peel (left) on the podium in Lake Placid © Winter Vinecki Instagram

The opening World Cup of the 2018-2019 season has taken place in Lake Placid, NY, USA, with Laura Peel the top Australian performer in tenth place.

The VIS skier made made a strong start qualifying in sixth place with an 81.27 point full-full jump.

In the twelve woman final, Peel attempted the higher degree of difficulty full - double full jump, electing to go for higher risk in preparation for the World Championships. Unfortunately Peel was deep on her landing, and just missed the super final to finish in tenth.

Also competing for Australia was Britt George in 20th with Gabi Ash and Abbey Willcox making their World Cup debut's to finish in 22nd and 23rd.

The next event for the Flying Kangaroos Australian Aerial Ski Team is the World Championships in Park City, UT, USA.
IMAGE - Laura Peel sending one high in the night sky at Lake Placid © OWIA/Lachy Keevers

The Flying Kangaroos Australian Aerial Ski Team took part in a warm up Europa Cup event in Ruka, Finland, over the weekend, with the highlight being two athletes achieving podium performances.
 
On day one, Abbey Willcox finished in second place, which was the best Europa Cup performance of her career.
 
On day two VIS athletes Laura Peel and Britt George recovered from a disappointing day one performances, with Peel taking the win, George in fifth place and Wilcox tenth.
 
The Flying Kangaroos will continue training in Ruka thought to Christmas, before resuming in North America in January for the first World Cup of the season in Lake Placid, USA, on January 19.

IMAGE: Laura Peel (left) and Abbey Willcox (right), podium athletes in Ruka

ustralian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Ian Chesterman reflects on the Australian PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games team.

We finish these Games in an exciting place for the future. This is the best performed Australian team at an OWG by many measures.

We didn’t produce gold that’s true, but if you look a little closer you’ll see why I am so pleased with our results at these Games.

We’ve matched the number of medals previously won, but demonstrated a depth of elite results that we have not seen before. We have for the first time 3 new medal winners at one Games.

We have more top six results than ever before – seven - all who made finals. Our medallists are 22, 23 and 23 – and we can expect all to be back in Beijing in 2022.

We had more opportunities than ever before, and I think that depth is the biggest change in the last four years.
The overall results demonstrate the program success we are having in moguls, SBX and HP.

Not only did Matt Graham win silver, we saw Jakara Anthony, just 19, finish 4th and Britt Cox 5th.

Matt was beaten by the greatest mogul skier of all time in Mikal Kingsbury.

In the top six in men and women for moguls, Australia had three athletes. Canada had four and no other country had more than one. We also had a 14 and a 20th.

So it was a highly successful moguls group with so much promise for the future.

Our snowboard cross athletes performed superbly. Three men in one semi final, two in the final, a result of 2nd, 6th and 10th, indicates that this program works.

I particularly congratulate Jarryd and I’m delighted that he will carry the flag for Australia into the Closing Ceremony.

Half pipe also produced two top ten results including the medal for Scotty James. The men’s final was one of the feature events at the Games. In the end Scotty couldn’t beat the greatest of all time in Shaun White, but demonstrated that he is a prodigious talent with an incredible future ahead.

Laura Peel was top five in woman’s aerials and Sami Kennedy Sim’s eighth was a strong result for the Ski Cross team, and could have easily been even better.

Greta Small had the best Alpine result ever by an Australian woman, our cross country had best ever results including a 12 from 21 result in the teams event. Our sliding sports – Luge, Skeleton and Bob – all did us proud.

Our figure skaters inspired us and looked completely at home on the Olympic stage. Harley Windsor created history by becoming our first indigenous Winter Olympian.

Our ice racers gave their all and kept the dream of Olympic representation alive for their sports.

I would also like to record my thanks to one athlete, Lydia Lassila, for her outstanding career over five Olympic Games and for the legacy that she leaves.

Injuries took their toll.

Tess Coady’s unfortunate end remains the low point of the Games for me. An immensely talented 17 year-old was denied her chance to perform in events that were dominated by teenagers. Who knows what might have been.
Russ Henshaw, Brodie Summer and Belle Brockhoff were all handicapped by pre-Games issues, as was Jess Rich, who still managed to finish just one spot out of the finals in Big Air.

Our aerial skiers, so long the back bone of our team at the Winters, missed out on a medal for the first time since 2002. Laura Peel made the final to finish a highly credible 5th. Thanks to Dave Morris for another stellar performance, unlucky to miss progressing through the finals but clearly establishing himself as a champion athlete and a champion person.

The rest of the world is catching up, has caught up, demonstrating the need for our own water ramp facility.

Our athletes are committed and excellent but we are struggling to provide an environment that matches those of their rivals.

Simply, we need a water ramp training venue. Not only will a water ramp be great for our athletes it will bring a major economic boost to the host region with our athletes and international teams visiting to train.

Building a half pipe is also essential and I thank the Federal Government and Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie, for their on-going commitment to these projects. Both are crying out for a home.

The performances both on and off the field of play has been exceptional.

Our team has been thrilled with the support they have received from home. It seems our sports and our athletes have captured the interest and hearts of Australians as never before. The decency of our athletes has been on show for all to see.

I thank all the media here and at home who have embraced our team and shared our stories. Every time an athlete has gone out to compete here in PyeongChang, the Aussie spirit of giving it a go has shone through, and you have provided a platform for our athletes to inspire many at home.

PyeongChang must be congratulated for putting on a wonderful Olympic Winter Games. Everything worked, the Koreans were so friendly and helpful, and the venues were superb.

I thank the AOC staff and team staff who have worked so hard to plan and operate this team.

Let me conclude by saying that I’ve been with our winter team since in Lillehammer in 1994, and it is the best team I have ever been involved in.

Ian Chesterman

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

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