Lassila awarded with gold medal

26 Feb 2010, 2:47 pm   -   Source: SBS Staff, AFP
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Lydia Lassila at the medal ceremony. (AAP)

Lydia Lassila at the medal ceremony. (AAP)

Australian aerial skier Lydia Lassila  has been awarded the gold medal for her event during a ceremony at the Vancouver Olympics.

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Australian aerial skier Lydia Lassila  has been awarded the gold medal for her event during a ceremony at the Vancouver Olympics.

A beaming Lassila accepted the medal in front of  Aussie fans holding aloft inflatable boxing kangaroos as the Austrlaian national anthem played.

Li Nina and Guo Xinxin of China were presented with silver and bronze medals respectively.

Lassila said Thursday the country would be "unstoppable" in the sport if athletes had the facilities to practise all year round.
  
Lassila saw off the challenge of the powerful Chinese to seize gold at Vancouver's Mount Cypress on Wednesday and seal Australia's best-ever Winter Olympics showing.
  
It was their third medal in Vancouver following Torah Bright's gold in the women's halfpipe and Dale Begg-Smith's silver in the men's moguls.
  
Their efforts ensured Australia has won three medals at a Winter Olympics for the first time, surpassing the country's previous best of two golds at the 2002 Salt Lake Games.
  
But the 28-year-old admitted she was forced to train abroad for much of the year due to a lack of facilities at home.
  
"I think that's the only thing we're missing to compete with the Chinese team. I would have loved to be training at home all these years," she said.
  
"The Chinese have hundreds and hundreds of kids pouring into the sport. If we are to be competitive, we need to be at home. That's how we'll get the depth.
  
"In Australia we could practise all year-round if we had the water-ramp facility. Just imagine if we had a water-ramp facility at home. We'd be unstoppable," she added.



 

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