Laura Peel
With both a strong skiing and gymnastics background, aerials
proved the perfect fit for dual Olympian, Laura Peel. The Canberran was
identified by Jacqui Cooper as a potential star of the sport in 2007 and four
years later she made her debut on the World Cup circuit.
At her second Olympic campaign in PyeongChang 2018, 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.
With five World Cup medals to her name, Peel made her
Olympic debut at the Sochi 2014 Games. She progressed through qualification and
had the fifth highest score in Final 1. A backslap in Final 2 saw her finish in
the competition in a commendable seventh.
Peel became Australia’s fourth Australian aerials skier to
win a World Championship event when she won gold in Kreischberg, Austria in
2015. Peel scored 88.47 in the final to edge the USA’s Kiley McKinnon and Xu
Mengtao of China. Peel scored her best result of the 2016/17 season in Moscow,
Russia where she claimed bronze. She progressed through to Final 2 at the 2017
World Championships before finishing the event in eighth.
The 28-year-old hit form at the perfect time ahead of the
PyeongChang 2018 Games securing back-to-back bronze medals at the Lake Placid
World Cup just weeks out from her second Olympic appearance.
