FREESTYLE - AERIALS: Lydia Lassila has already made history in Sochi, and she hasn't even had her first run in competition. In training, the Vancouver gold medallist fulfilled a lifelong dream when she became the first woman to land a quad-twisting triple somersault.

"It was a massive breakthrough for me," Lassila said. "To jump like the men has been an ambition of mine."

If she can land the same trick in the Women's Aerials final on Day Seven of the Winter Games it would almost guarantee her the gold medal. However the 32-year-old is not sure whether she will attempt it.

"Whether we get the opportunity to do it, we'll just see what the weather is doing."

Back to back golds would make Lassila Australia's most successful Winter Olympian and cap off a remarkable four years since Vancouver.

After her triumph in Canada, Lassila took time away from skiing to start a family, giving birth to son Kai in May 2011. Since returning to competition in December 2012 the Melbourne resident has shown impressive form. In the pre-Olympic season she won a gold and silver from five World Cup starts.

Women's Aerials has been Australia's most successful Winter Olympic event. Lassila's victory in 2010 with a world record score added to Alisa Camplin’s gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and bronze at Torino 2006.

Camplin, Lassila and before them Jacqui Cooper and Kirstie Marshall have inspired a new generation of Aussies to take up the sport, the best of which will be on show in Sochi.

Sydney's Danielle Scott is the bronze medallist from the 2013 world championships and has impressed with a first place in a Europa Cup season opener and in the last World Cup round before Sochi she won silver. She was the international rookie of the year in 2012.

Scott has settled in well at her first Games experience.

“Enjoying being an Olympian! Two days until comp day," she posted on Facebook.

Laura Peel and Samantha Wells have both narrowly missed the podium during World Cups this year and round out the super strong Australian Team.

Peel will be hoping her silver medal on the same hill for the Sochi Test Event a year ago in a sign of things to come.

The other nation with even greater depth is the Chinese. They have four of the top five spots on the World Cup rankings this season, with Lassila sitting in fourth.

Three-time World Champion Li Nina has scored two first places and a second so far this year to sit on top of the World Cup leader board. She will be desperate to add a gold medal to the silvers she won in Torino and Vancouver.

The Chinese team also boasts reigning World Champion Xu Mengtao, 2011 champ Shuang Chen and Xin Zhang, who has been on the podium in four of the five events so far in 2014. Xu has won 12 World Cups since Vancouver where she was sixth, but her best this season has been bronze.

The relatively new Aerials competition format consists of a qualification (2 jumps) and final (3 jumps) phase. The top 6 from Qualification Jump 1 advance directly to the final. The remaining 19 competitors perform a second jump and another six advance.

The 12 competitors in Final 1 run in reverse order of their qualification rank. The final is divided into three jumps, points are not carried forward. The top 8 competitors from Final 1 advance to Final 2. The top four competitors from Final 2 advance to Final 3 where the medals are decided.

"I think it's going to be survival of the fittest really and who can stay hungry from start to finish," said Lassila.

Athletes are not allowed to perform the same jump in a phase but can do the same jump in the Final as they did in Qualification. Skiers must nominate their jumps before the start of the competition phase.