Speeding towards the snow-covered ramp, suddenly everything clicked into slow motion.
Three times Lassila’s helmet-covered head pointed towards the ground, and three times it returned gracefully towards the heavens. A nation held its breath waiting for that perfect landing and Lassila didn’t disappoint - planting her skis on the snow, soaking the force with her shock absorbing knees to secure the Olympic gold medal.
It was a memory frozen in time for those that watched it, and it is a vision so many want to see repeated in Sochi.
After achieving the ultimate success many wondered if the Olympic champion would return to defend her crown.
For the 31-year old there was never any doubt. “Any games are emotional. They light the spark within you. I don’t think [the gold medal] has changed me. I am still the same beast inside,” says Lassila.
Sochi will be the Victorian’s fourth Olympics campaign as she seeks to become the first Australian to win back-to-back gold medals at a Winter Olympics.
A lot can happen in the four years between Olympic campaigns.
For Lassila the biggest change hasn’t been the success and fame that has followed her gold medal, but rather the addition of a new family member - a two and a half year old son called Kai.
“We truly are an international family,” Lassila reveals - referring to her husband Lauri, a Fin (who is a former Olympian), and also the fact that Kai follows her around on the professional circuit (although he wont be at the Olympic village in Sochi).
The 2010 Australian Athlete of the Year says that being a mother hasn’t impacted her ability to compete at a top level, in a sport that tests the body's limits on a daily basis. “It’s my job. It’s just like any mum managing the different aspects of life.”
For this Olympic champion being a mother and traveling the world to train provide a welcome distraction for the pressure and scrutiny that follows Australia’s Olympic champions.
Having such a testing regime has been a blessing in disguise, confesses Lassila. “We are away nine months of the year… That has benefits and one of those is being removed from the hype.”
It will be hard for Lassila to escape the anticipation in Sochi, even if that expectation is self-imposed. The Australian has set her eyes on an even more heart-stopping maneuver for February’s Olympic competition - a quad-twisting triple somersault. It is an audacious goal as no woman has ever landed the jump on snow.
But the feat is about so much more than a medal. “I always thought it was the gold medal that was driving me and after Vancouver I realized it wasn’t… I ultimately want to be the best aerial skier that has ever lived,” shares Lassila.
Claiming a second gold medal and being the first woman to land such a technical and testing move would be a large stride towards proving exactly that.
Athlete Bio
Name: Lydia Lassila
Age: 31
Olympic Campaigns: Three (Salt Lake, Turin, Vancouver)
Event: Women's Aerials
Lives: Finland, Switzerland, Australia
Twitter: @lydialassila
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