SKIING: Becoming Australia's first dual Winter Olympics gold medallist is still very much on Lydia Lassila's mind as the aerial skier returns to top flight-competition next week for the first time in almost three years.
SKIING: Becoming Australia's first dual Winter Olympics gold medallist is still very much on Lydia Lassila's mind as the aerial skier returns to top flight-competition next week for the first time in almost three years.
Lassila enjoyed a lengthy hiatus from the sport after her Vancouver Games triumph in February 2010, having a baby and focusing on some of her business interests.
But the 30-year-old has been easing her way back into skiing over the past year and, with the sport effectively going backwards competitively since the last Olympics, she is confident ahead of the first World Cup event of the season in China on January 5.
"I'm pretty excited rather than daunted by it," Lassila said of her return.
"I didn't obsess about it because it was a break and, now that I'm back in it, I realise I haven't missed that much.
"It's (a gold medal) definitely on the table - it's just a question of whether I can snatch it."
Lassila has been training in Switzerland and Finland for several months, capping her work with a low-key return in a second-tier Europa Cup event on December 17.
While the competition was light on, as were the quality of jumps, Lassila surprised herself by winning.
"I wasn't going to compete but I realised I didn't have enough FIS (skiing's peak body) points to compete in a World Cup ... so I had to do it to get them.
"I kept the jumps pretty basic but then I went inside and realised that I won it."
Lassila has had to juggle travelling with her son Kai and various family members for support and says, while her schedule isn't straightforward, things have gone relatively smoothly thus far.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle for the three-time Winter Olympian in the lead-up to Sochi 2014 is the new format of the competition which hardly tickles her fancy.
Instead of having separate qualifying and finals days, events are jammed into the one day that includes a repechage heat and a second final which determines the podium places.
Lassila said the new format rewards conservative jumping.
"When I first heard the format was coming out, I didn't really like it because it just makes my day longer and harder," Lassila said.
"I think it's a disadvantage to everyone because you've got to do more jumps which means you have to be out there longer and there's a greater risk of fatigue and injury.
"Now you don't get any advantage from your previous jump.
"But I'll just have to embrace it and learn to like it."
AAP