Lydia Lassila recaptures old magic with win at Deer Valley

At 35, Lydia Lassila has proved that she is capable of becoming the first Australian to win three Winter Olympic medals.

Lydia Lassila flies high on her way to first place at Deer Valley.

At 35, Lydia Lassila has proved she is capable of becoming the first Australian to win three Winter Olympic medals, after claiming the most prestigious World Cup competition of the season in Deer Valley, Utah at the weekend.

And while Lassila will aim for her third medal in successive Games in Pyeongchang this time next year, moguls skier Britt Cox and snowboarder Belle Brockhoff are charging towards their first, after winning their respective World Cup events.

In the past 10 days, five different Australian winter athletes have claimed significant inter­national victories in the mountains of Europe and North America to underline the growing strength of the Australian team for next year’s Games.

Lassila, the 2010 Olympic freestyle aerial champion, took three years off after the Sochi Games, during which she gave birth to her second son, but in only her second competition back she has recaptured her old magic.

In driving snow at Deer Valley, she stood tall, executing a beautiful triple-twisting back somersault to edge past American former World Cup champion Kiley McKinnon and return to the top of the podium.

When her score of 95.52 points came up on the board, she looked momentarily stunned before screaming in delight.

“It wasn’t the greatest jump but you just have to land, especially on days like this,’’ she said afterwards.

“It was pretty tough out there but in weather like this I tend to really thrive. I like it because it’s really challenging.’’

Lassila won her Olympic gold medal jumping in thick fog in Vancouver and made her career by being the boldest skier on the hill, the one most willing to go big when the pressure was on.

However, she confessed she would take a different approach into her fifth Olympic Games next year.

She will not attempt to get back to the quadruple-twisting triple somersault she pioneered in Sochi three years ago and said she would concentrate on triple-twisting double somersaults.

The current competition format often rewards consistency more than difficulty.

Cox claimed Australia’s second victory in successive days at Deer Valley, bouncing back from third place in the moguls event on Friday to dominate the dual ­moguls race yesterday.

In the men’s event, fellow ­Australian Brodie Summers broke through to his first podium finish at this level, finishing third in the dual moguls.

Meanwhile, Brockhoff also thrived in a different format, winning the first sprint distance snowboard cross World Cup at Bansko in Bulgaria.

It took about 20 seconds for the riders to complete the straight-line course so the start was crucial, and that’s where Brockhoff excelled throughout the day.