VIS aerial skier Danielle Scott maintained her world No 1 ranking when the World Cup circuit resumed at Lake Placid in North America over the weekend.
Scott finished second (92.00) with an almost flawless triple-twisting double somersault but was outgunned by American Ashley Caldwell’s degree of difficulty.
However Scott’s early season consistency (a second, a first and a second from three competitions) has propelled her to the top of the World Cup standings.
Reigning World Champion Laura Peel finished fifth (75.78) as she continued her return from injury and Olympic gold medallist Lydia Lassila made a promising return to finish sixth (61.68) in her first competition for three years.
In the semi-final, Lassila looked more nervous than she did before her Olympic gold medal jump in Vancouver in 2010, but she qualified for the six-woman final in third place after executing a strong double-twisting double somersault.
However, adding a third twist for the final brought her undone. She was late on the landing, and flipped forward when her skis touched down, losing any chance of a podium finish.
But it is early days for the 34 year old quadruple Olympian’s comeback and she will only improve from here.
