Salt Lake 2002 gold medallist Alisa Camplin returns to aerial skiing World Cup competition at Mt Buller in the first weekend of September, 18 months after her last jump on snow and 11 months after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in a training accident.

Camplin will lead a six member Australian team that also includes three time World Cup champion Jacqui Cooper, returning to competition after a shoulder reconstruction.

For Camplin, the two Mt Buller events are a first opportunity to meet the performance criteria for selection to the Australian team for Torino 2006.

For Cooper, who has already met the performance criteria that should see her on the way to her fourth Olympic Games, Mt Buller is the first step back to the triple somersault routines that took her to pre-Games favouritism in 2002.

Also in the Australian team will be Liz Gardner, sixth in the World Championships in March, Lainie Cole, Bree Munro and Shannon Leotta.

Missing, of course, will be world number two Lydia Ierodiaconou, rehabilitating from a knee reconstruction.

This year will be the eighth time the Victorian resort has kicked off the World Cup aerial skiing season, hosting two events of the 11-event season.

World Cup number 1 will be held on Saturday September 3 with World Cup 2 following on Sunday September 4.

Eight of the world’s top ten women and eight of the top ten men – including reigning World Champions Nina Li of China, and Jeret Peterson of the United States - will be in the field.

Nina Li took six gold and five minor medals last season on her way to the World Cup crown and she also won the biennial World Championship. The Chinese also boast the world number three in Xinxin Guo.

Li had a remarkably consistent year, posting four silver medals, a bronze and

Swiss veteran Evelyne Leu, Belarussian Alla Tsuper, and the Canadian duo of Veronika Bauer and Deidra Dionne will also challenge for the medals.

The battle for the men’s medals will be as open as it has ever been in the eight year history of the event. Nine different skiers won gold on the World Cup last season, five of them for the first time, including the 2005 champion Jeret Peterson of the United States.

Peterson, his team-mate Ryan St Onge, Belarussians Dmitri Daschinski and Alexei Grishin and the Chinese duo of Xiaopeng Han or Sen Qiu are likely to make the podium.
Courtesy OWI/Sportcom


The last time Alisa competed - the women's podium in Sauze d'Uulx, Italy, at the final event of the 2003/04 season - 1st place Alisa Camplin and World Cup winner, 2nd place Evelyn Leu (SUI) & 3rd place Liz Gardner (AUS).