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Lassila eyes fifth Winter Olympics
Dual medallist Lydia Lassila says she'd love to have a crack at a fifth Winter Olympic Games - if a training facility can be built for snow athletes in Australia.
Many assumed aerial skier Lassila would retire after claiming aerial skiing bronze at last year's Sochi Games, particularly considering she'd won gold four years earlier in Vancouver.
But Lassila, who has had her second child, wants to have a tilt at Pyeonchang, South Korea in 2018 if she can train in Australia.
Winter athletes in freestyle disciplines typically spend large amounts of time actually training off-snow, practising their tricks on purpose-built ramps to land in a swimming pool.
And those type of athletes have won nine of Australia's last 10 Winter Olympics medals.
"It's kind of up in the air," the 33 year-old said of her future.
"It is really resting on the water ramp getting built. It's a shame - I would like to keep going but it's just not going to be possible to do the ten months away with two kids. It was hard enough with just one."
A water jump facility was initially slated to be built in east Brisbane but the project was halted in 2013, by the then-state government citing the costs involved.
The NSW far north coast town of Lennox Head then became a possible home for the site but development plans are still on ice, waiting for around $8 million funding from the state and federal governments.
While some have argued it wouldn't be money well spent in a country like Australia, Lassila says the fact that such facilities can be used by so many sports and also double as a theme park for the general population means it could be a money spinner.
"The ones that are successful overseas get groups in, it's almost like a theme park with slip `n' slides going off the jumps. You can have divers, water polo, swimmers - it really is a shared facility," she said.
"And that's not to mention our skiers and snowboarders and moguls and slopestyle people."
She said that the facility would realistically have to be built in the next year for her to get involved, a long stretch of travelling overseas to set-ups in places like Utah and Switzerland unrealistic for her now.
Lassila had her three-year preparation and postscript to the Sochi Games filmed for Australia's first full feature length sports documentary.
Called The Will to Fly, it is has a cinema release in October.
Many assumed aerial skier Lassila would retire after claiming aerial skiing bronze at last year's Sochi Games, particularly considering she'd won gold four years earlier in Vancouver.
But Lassila, who has had her second child, wants to have a tilt at Pyeonchang, South Korea in 2018 if she can train in Australia.
Winter athletes in freestyle disciplines typically spend large amounts of time actually training off-snow, practising their tricks on purpose-built ramps to land in a swimming pool.
And those type of athletes have won nine of Australia's last 10 Winter Olympics medals.
"It's kind of up in the air," the 33 year-old said of her future.
"It is really resting on the water ramp getting built. It's a shame - I would like to keep going but it's just not going to be possible to do the ten months away with two kids. It was hard enough with just one."
A water jump facility was initially slated to be built in east Brisbane but the project was halted in 2013, by the then-state government citing the costs involved.
The NSW far north coast town of Lennox Head then became a possible home for the site but development plans are still on ice, waiting for around $8 million funding from the state and federal governments.
While some have argued it wouldn't be money well spent in a country like Australia, Lassila says the fact that such facilities can be used by so many sports and also double as a theme park for the general population means it could be a money spinner.
"The ones that are successful overseas get groups in, it's almost like a theme park with slip `n' slides going off the jumps. You can have divers, water polo, swimmers - it really is a shared facility," she said.
"And that's not to mention our skiers and snowboarders and moguls and slopestyle people."
She said that the facility would realistically have to be built in the next year for her to get involved, a long stretch of travelling overseas to set-ups in places like Utah and Switzerland unrealistic for her now.
Lassila had her three-year preparation and postscript to the Sochi Games filmed for Australia's first full feature length sports documentary.
Called The Will to Fly, it is has a cinema release in October.
Source: www.ninemsn.com.au
