Winter sports Lassila wins elusive aerial skiing World Cup title
04 Mar 2009
After coming in second at the end of four previous World Cup seasons, AIS aerial skier Lydia Lassila has finally broken through to win her first crystal globe.
Lassila claimed bronze in the final event of the season in Moscow and that was enough keep her ahead of 2005 winner Li Nina on the World Cup points table.
The 27-year-old AIS skier landed both her triple twisting double somersaults for a total of 192.11 points, finishing third behind Chinese skiers Xu Mengtao (195.980) and Cheng Shuang (192.81).
Li Nina was in fifth position on 177.48 points after missing the landing on her opening jump and scoring just 77.37 points, but came back strongly in the second round with the second highest jump of the competition. However it was not enough to close the gap on Lassila's score.
The Australian had led in World Cup standings at the start of the season, but niggling injuries combined with the drive to perform triple somersaults with a high level of difficulty cost her valuable points towards the season’s end, and she went into the Moscow event only nine points clear of Li.
‘It was a little stressful, I didn't really make it easy for myself this season,’ Lassila said.
‘She (Li) had a bit of a slap on the first (jump) but then came out with a real beauty in the second and so the pressure was on, but I got through it which I am really glad about.’
Lassila is the fourth Australian woman to win the aerial skiing World Cup title, following Kirstie Marshall (1992), Jacqui Cooper (1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008) and Alisa Camplin (2003, 2004).
The AIS skier had previously been runner-up to Camplin in 2003 and 2004, and was also defeated by Li in 2005 and Cooper in 2008.
