She’s back: Lydia Lassila joins the Flying Kangaroos in Finland

Courtesy Olympic Winter Institute of Australia

The FIS Freestyle skiing aerials World Cup season begins in just over two weeks in China with Australia’s six-member Flying Kangaroos ready to take on the world.

Led by current world silver medallist Danielle Scott, Sochi Olympic silver medallist Dave Morris and the return of 2015 World Champion Laura Peel, the Flying Kangaroos are training in the Finnish mountain ski resort Ruka, looking to be stronger, faster and higher.
   
In a huge boost, the team has been joined by 2010 Olympic Gold and 2014 Olympic Bronze medallist Lydia Lassila, who flew out of Australia on the weekend.  Lydia is scheduled to begin her competition season in Lake Placid, USA on January 14, 2017.

Lydia rejoins the OWIA  and team mates David Morris, Laura Peel, Samantha Wells, Renee McElduff and Danielle Scott, heralding a hopeful Aussie blitz in the Northern Hemisphere winter. 
  
The FIS Freestyle skiing aerials World Cup season will see seven competitions at six different venues spread out across Asia, Europe and North America in 2016/17, beginning with back-to-back competitions on December 17 and 18 at China’s Beida Lake resort.

From Beida Lake, the aerials World Cup hits its US swing, first at historic Lake Placid just after the holidays and then on to the classic showdown in Deer Valley in early February. 

After the North American events, it’s back to Asia for what might be the most hotly-anticipated competition of the year - the test event for the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games at Korea’s Bokwang Phoenix Park.

With hugely successful slopestyle and ski cross events already in the bag from last season, 2016/17 is the time for halfpipe, moguls and aerials athletes to get a preview of what to expect the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, and you can count on the aerialists stepping up for the occasion.