It's not the mountain we conquer but ourselves - Sir Edmund Hillary
Personal Details
- Home town:
Canberra, ACT
- Occupation / Area of Study / Work:
Nutrition / Accounting
- Hero / Most Admired Athlete:
Eliud Kipchoge
- Date of birth:
29 September 1989
Sporting Details
- Event(s) / Discipline:
Freestyle Skiing
- Home Club:
Canberra Alpine Club
- Olympic / Paralympic History:
Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics - 7th
PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics - 5th
Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics - 5th
- World Championships History:
2011 FIS World Championships - 11th
2013 FIS World Championships - 8th
Kreischberg, Austria 2015 FIS World Championships - 1st
Sierra Nevada, Spain 2017 FIS World Championships - 8th
Utah, USA 2019 FIS World Championships - 4th
Almaty, Kazakhstan 2021 FIS World Championships - 1st
- Sporting Highlights:
- World Champion 2021
- World Cup Overall Champion | 2021 & 2022
Laura Peel came to her sport as a strong skier and gymnast, thus providing an ideal base for Aerial Skiing when she began international competition in 2009.
By 2011 entered the World Cup season for the first time making the final 12 at her second event and backed up increasingly strong results with 11th place at the 2011 World Championships in Deer Valley.
In 2012, Peel became the fifth Australian female to win an Aerial Skiing World Cup, claiming victory in Kreischberg, Austria. She continued her success in the 2013 season adding a further two world cup medals.
By now a strong contender at any event, Peel competed at her first Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014, finishing in seventh place.
In 2015, Peel became the fourth Australian Aerial Skier to win a World Championship, taking gold in Kreischberg, Austria. She was also jointly awarded as the Ski & Snowboard Australia Athlete of the Year with Scotty James (Snowboard Halfpipe).
After missing the next season because of injury, Peel returned in great shape for 2016/17, immediately making the top 12 once again and continued to strengthen each event.
At the final World Cup in Moscow, Russia in early 2017 she returned to the podium with a bronze before competing in the World Championships where she placed 8th.
In 2018, Peel hit form at the perfect time ahead of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games securing back-to-back bronze medals at the Lake Placid World Cup just weeks out from her second Olympic appearance. In PyeongChang Peel was the highest placed Australian Aerial Skier, just missing the podium in fifth place.
Peel won her second World Cup event of her career in 2018-2019, after finishing on top in Shimao Lotus Mountain, China. With China the final stop in the World Cup season, Peel finished a personal best third in the world on the standings, improving on her previous best of fourth achieved in 2012 and 2013.
The 2019-2020 World Cup season was a huge success for Peel, jumping triple back somersaults in competition for the first time, taking home four World Cup medals including two victories and also won the coveted FIS World Cup Crystal Globe, as the number one ranked aerial skier in the world.
For the second time in his career, Peel was named winner of the Olympic Athlete of the Year title for the 2020 Snow Australia Awards, sharing the award along with halfpipe snowboarder Scotty James.
The 2020-2021 was another extraordinary season for Peel, who won the second World Championship gold medal of her career in Almaty, Kazakhstan, becoming Australia’s first aerial skiing double World Champion.
Leading the way as the only female to be consistency Jumping the highest degree of difficulty with her spectacular triple back somersaults, Peel again dominated the World Cup season claiming her second consecutive World Cup Crystal Globe Title. Peel recorded four World Cup podiums including two victories over the season.
In 2022, Peel will no doubt be one of Australia's best medal hopes at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China, where she will be aiming to compete in her third Olympics.
