FREESTYLE SKIING: What's that one about old dogs and new tricks?
David Morris might be one of the world’s best but he knows that constant improvement is the only way he'll be able to stay at the top of his sport.
That’s why the Sochi 2014 aerials silver medallist has a tradition of adding a new jump to his already amazing repertoire when he heads to the water ramp facility at Utah Olympic Park each year.
This time it was a little different though. Four months and over 1100 jumps later, Morris took his skillset to new heights as the 32-year-old began his push towards PyeongChang 2018 gold.
“Each year I look to do a completely new skill on water, but this year I managed to complete two of them,” said Australia’s first male Winter Olympic aerials medallist.
“They are by far the most technical skills I’ve ever done, and to be honest the most technical skills anyone can do. Both skills have a triple-twist in the second flip, and it was extremely challenging to do, but in trying it has made my normal double-twists feel really slow and easy.
“I'm not yet ready to compete them on snow but we are building them up for the Olympic year to use them at the right moment if needed.”
Morris surprised a star-studded field at his debut Olympic Games in 2014 when he progressed through to the four-man super final and put pressure on his rivals after landing his final jump - a double-Full Full-Full (quad twisting somersault) to score 110.41. Two of the three following competitors failed to land their jumps as Morris’ consistency throughout the event saw him leave Russia with a hard-earned silver medal.
Four years on and Morris knows that the progress he has made, and continues to make, will hold him in good stead to challenge everyone that stands between him and getting another chance to stand on the Olympic podium.
“The only reason I'm back is to get another medal and hopefully to be on par with the best of the competition.
“Last time I was fortunate enough to maximise my chances on people's errors but I plan to come in this time and be able to beat everyone who lands their skills without concern.
“In the end, as always representing Australia is what my dream is and making my family and friends proud. I want to inspire people and be remembered for who I am, how I talk, how I act, as well as my achievements. I'm excited at the possibilities but also aware of the nature of our kind of sports in that literally anything can happen on the day.”
If Morris is to get his chance at winning a second Olympic medal he first has to qualify for PyeongChang.
“Olympic qualifications start for us this year so I have been thinking long term. We need to be ranked in the top 25 in the world to qualify and that ends just before the Games and I have full confidence that I will make this quota as I have the last two times.
“After my previous experiences I can appreciate putting off the initial success this year in order to peak next year when it really matters. I know I am exactly where I need to be, healthy with another year to go to continue working to stay strong and fit.”
The first qualification event will be at the Beijing World Cup event which both Morris and the Australian aerials team is now building towards.
“In November the team will head to Finland to train and build up the skills over a month to get ready for the first World Cups in China. There will be two Europa Cups whilst we are there which I use to motivate me to get up to the necessary skills faster.
“In Beijing there will also be a team event which I’m hoping we can do really well in this year. Despite most teams having an advantage over us by having two men competing in each team of 3, last year we finished 4th, with some impressive jumps and I think we can do really well this year with a full squad who primed for an amazing season.”
Morris will be joined by a strong contingent of Australians in the World Cup series including dual Olympic medallist Lydia Lassila and fellow Sochi 2014 Olympians Laura Peel and Danielle Scott.
The Beijing World Cup kicks off the series on December 17-18.
Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au
