Laura Peel Interview
A massive interview coming your way today as we chat with two-time Olympian and reigning World Champion in the sport of Aerial Skiing Laura Peel about her amazing career and her hopes ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics! We find out from Laura how much already knowing how to ski helped her transition into aerials from gymnastics, as well as just how it was in the early 2010s to be bunking with a soon to be Olympic Champion in Lydia Lassila. We also find out just how much her coach yelling during a routine actually helps her, what mental activities she likes to work on in order to help her better during competition and just what challenges are involved in transporting one of the most amazing sporting trophies in the world from Europe back home to Australia. It’s a flipping good time that you won’t want to miss, so get to listening!
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Please note this is an automated transcript that may contain errors.
BEN WATERWORTH: It is Off The Podium, An Olympics Podcast, coming to you today for another interview episode. You've been enjoying these, you've had so many for you, and we've been getting some great feedback for these. But we're going to get some great feedback for this one today, because we have a massive, massive guest on this show today. Two-time World Aerial Skiing Champion, Laura Peel, the reigning world champion in aerial skiing, and one of the big hopes for Australia ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games. She's also the reigning two-time World Cup Crystal Globe winner, a two-time Olympian from Sochi and Pyeongchang. And just a fun chat here with Laura, learning a little bit about getting into the sport of aerials, going over her Olympic experiences in both Sochi and in Pyeongchang, and the experiences of going into an Olympics in Russia, something that we haven't really touched on too much with our Sochi competitors. And a little bit of fun here when it comes to sledging beforehand in aerials, how the coach yelling helps or hinders her up there on the hill, and just how much of a game changer the Jeff Henke Centre in Brisbane is for winter sport. We obviously talked a little bit about that to Danielle Scott several weeks ago, but to hear a little bit more from Laura too is fantastic, and really exciting times for winter sport here in Australia. So without further ado, here is our chat with two-time Olympian Laura Peel.
BEN WATERWORTH: So excited to be able to have our next guest here on Off The Podium, a two-time Olympian, a two-time world champion, a two-time World Cup, Crystal Globe winner. And I wanna say, and I'm gonna see if I can confirm this in just a moment, the only Winter Olympian from Canberra. I don't know if that's true or not. I'm gonna confirm that in just a moment. It's a massive pleasure to welcome to Off The Podium, Laura Peel from the sport of freestyle skiing. Laura, first of all, welcome to Off The Podium. It's a pleasure to have you on the show today.
LAURA PEEL: Good, thanks very much. Thanks for having me. Happy to be here. I'm actually not sure if I'm the only Winter Olympian from Canberra, but I don't think so.
BEN WATERWORTH: I feel, yeah, with the AIS and all of that, I would think so. But I mean, as a Tasmanian, I obviously know there have never been a Winter Olympian from Tasmania. I still hold hope that one day I can find a sport that I can break that record in. But yeah, still time, still time, but yeah, I just, I didn't know if there was like sort of a famous Cambrian Winter Olympian that I was forgetting. So I didn't know if that was like the knowledge that you share from Canberra, that, hey, we're a select group of unique individuals, winter athletes at the Winter Olympics.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, it should be all over it. I mean, we're not far from the ski fields in Canberra, so we should have a good record, I reckon.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, possibly. We'll check the research books back in the day. But it's obviously exciting times for you. We're only a few months out now from Beijing. Obviously, things are ramping up for you. You've come off the back of a pretty successful season, I would say. World Championship, World Cup, Crystal Globe, you know, just a little bit of a good season in that. How are you feeling right now? It's this close to an Olympics, kind of. How does the mind work knowing that you're this close to your potentially third Olympic Games?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, it definitely comes around really quickly. And I think having the Tokyo Olympics and now the Paralympics starting, it's been a big reminder, I guess. So it's been really cool to watch all the Summer Olympians in action. But yeah, I'm feeling good, like you said, a successful season last year. Of course, trying not to get complacent, still working hard. And yeah, trying to enjoy the process, not get too overwhelmed by everything.
BEN WATERWORTH: How was it watching Tokyo? Because we're obviously in this very unique situation where the Summer Games are so close to the Winter Games with the postponement. I mean, is that a good thing for the Winter athletes, given you see how successful Australia was at Tokyo to really, I guess, give that momentum going for only a few months later towards Beijing?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I've always loved to watch the Olympic Games. So it's really fun and exciting to watch those athletes in action. It's really interesting, obviously, having them so close together. Seeing how the Summer Olympics handled all the COVID situations in Tokyo, I think is going to be helpful for us going into Beijing. So yeah, it's just fun. I've grown up watching the Olympics and I love to watch it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because it's still very fluid right now. It's still a lot of unknown stuff going into Beijing isn't there because given what we've obviously seen in Tokyo, but are you sort of getting updates from the AOC, the IOC kind of things like that that may happen or is that something that comes closer when it gets to the games when maybe more things are known?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I travelled all last season in a COVID world competing. So in that sense, I'm used to all the protocols, the constant testing, everything like that. So I feel like I've had a little bit of experience with it, which I think has been great. But I think at the moment, it's almost impossible to plan anything ahead. So just sort of focusing on what I can now and we'll see what comes when it does.
BEN WATERWORTH: Now I believe like many Australians who get into aerial skiing, you obviously have a background in gymnastics, but I also believe you had also skiing abilities. You were one of the many, well, the few I should say that kind of got into it with actually having a bit of a skiing background. How had you grown up skiing? And kind of how did that work when you eventually sort of switched over into aerials? And how helpful is that to actually already know how to ski when you are switched sports like that?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I was really lucky. I'm like you said, I grew up in Canberra, so pretty close to the ski fields. And I grew up skiing and doing gymnastics. And when I sort of felt like it was the end for me in gymnastics, I didn't really feel like it was the end of my sporting career. So being a skier and a gymnast, aerial skiing was the perfect opportunity to combine the two. And for me, it just meant I got to get started on flipping a lot quicker. You know, Australia will often recruit gymnasts and then teach them to ski. So I kind of got to skip that step and just get into the sport. And I've always felt really comfortable on my skis. And that definitely helps when you're skiing into a four and a half metre, almost wall of ice, it seems like, some days.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I've told the story many times on this show about how I tried skiing earlier this year and I gave up after like two seconds. It definitely wasn't for me, so I can imagine kind of having that sort of help there going into it, which I also like we had Danielle Scott on not long ago and sort of learnt a little bit about her background. Also I believe discovered by Jackie Cooper as you were. I mean, Jackie just is out there scouting everyone. I mean, she has a good eye for these things. If you see Jackie Cooper at a gymnastics event, do you know that, okay, something's going on here? I could be lucky.
LAURA PEEL: I actually remember seeing her at an event, but I remember talking to her over the phone and Jackie was obviously a very, very successful aerial skier. You know, she has five world titles and there was a few of us that she recruited in the same kind of time. Like you said, Danielle Scott, myself and also Samantha Wells, who's a two time Olympian has now retired. So yeah, I guess she did have a pretty good eye for it. And I think, you know, all of us training together, we each kind of pushed each other to keep going and to be better as well. So it was a good little group for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just on the gymnastics side of things, I find it very unique to think in Australian sporting history that we've only ever won the one medal in gymnastics, of course, Jaya Wallace back in Sydney in trampoline, yet when it comes to aerial skiing, it's kind of the opposite, you know, we've got what five Olympic medals in the sport of aero. So why are all these gymnasts who turn into aerial skiing so good at aerial skiing, but they kind of can't translate it into the gymnastics? Is it just more competitive? Is it just so different sports that you kind of can't compare? I mean, it's interesting that we have the success in aerials, but not in the gymnastics.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I grew up doing gymnastics because I loved it. I was never an elite gymnast. I never had dreams of going to the Olympics in gymnastics. When I started aerial skiing, I started in a high performance program, and that kind of was the goal, to go to the Olympics. So for me, it was a different approach, and it was different training from the very beginning. Yeah, I mean, I love my sport, and I mean, I don't know the reason, but yeah, we've got a very rich history in aerial skiing, and I think that helps as well. You know, we've watched people like Jackie Cooper, Lydia Lassila, Elisa Campland, Kirstie Marshall. We've watched them sort of reach the top of our sport. So to have that influence growing up and coming through the sport is really helpful as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: What was the hardest thing for you in transitioning from gymnastics into aerial skiing?
LAURA PEEL: I mean, I think it's a totally, it's a totally different sport. We now very recently have a training facility in Australia. But for the first 10 years of my career, we never have. So it's been nine months of the year on the road all of the time. I think that was definitely tough to get used to. You often feel like other parts of your life are on hold a bit. Of course, the internet definitely helps with that, being able to study online and all that kind of thing. But I think it's definitely challenging being away from home so much.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because it's sort of, you chase the snow and Canberra is not the warmest city in the world, but therefore you're chasing a lot colder cities around the world. So it's kind of also the unique aspect. Is it more of like a climatization to the weather? Obviously, you've obviously done a lot of skiing, but I guess you're not skiing for nine months of the year there. So you kind of got to get used to doing that a little bit more.
LAURA PEEL: Well, we're one of the lucky sorts, actually. Lucky winter sports. We get a summer and a winter because in the northern hemisphere summer, we practise our jumps off these big plastic ramps into a swimming pool. So we do actually get a summer, which is great. But until very recently, we haven't had a water ramp facility in Australia. So we've had to travel overseas in the summer time as well, not only to chase the snow. And then our competitions are in the northern hemisphere winter. And obviously in December, January, there's not a lot of snow in Australia.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, just on the facility, that's what the Geoff Henke Centre has been open now for about a year, I believe. So, I mean, just we talked a bit about that to Danny about it, but just how much of a game changer is that for not only freestyle skiing, but just winter sports in general in Australia, because I can imagine that 10 years ago, this would be unheard of that a facility like this would be built in Australia.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, it's massive. Like you said, absolutely game changing and pretty awesome for us. You know, when we travel overseas, we see people starting the sport a lot younger. And that's pretty tough if you're Australian, you know, everyone's got to finish high school before they can get on the road. So hopefully we'll see people start the sport a lot younger. Hopefully people will also be able to stay in the sport a little bit longer. They won't sort of have to put everything on their life on hold, in their life on hold and more exposure. Hopefully more people will give it a go. I think it's going to be a lot more accessible. And yeah, just a massive game changer for our sport.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm actually seeing this now, not to take away from the next batch of up and coming freestyle skiers, but I think gymnastics are going to be sitting in the crowd now at Jeff Hankey Centre. OK, we're going to poach some aerial skiers and bring them back to gymnastics. Like do it the other way around, right? Maybe that's what they need to do.
LAURA PEEL: That'd be interesting.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, kind of just flip it around that way a little bit. No pun intended there. When you started competing on the international scene, that was around about the time when Lydia got the gold in Vancouver. And then obviously, I can imagine the whole team is buoyed on by that success. Obviously, you mentioned Alissa had some success early in the 2000s. But what was that like coming into your first World Cup season in 2011 with Lydia, Olympic gold medallist all of a sudden and kind of just having that, I guess, you know, passion that was going on for the sport in Australia and really kind of taking them to a world stage. Could you feed off that kind of that momentum that Lydia brought into the team and kind of brought that into yourself when you are out there competing in the world?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, my first international camp jumping on snow was in northern Finland. And I was actually rooming with Lydia. And then a couple months later, she would go on to win the Olympics. So from the very, very beginning, I got to see sort of what it might take to be the best in the world, to be an Olympic champion. And that was a massive inspiration for me. My first year actually competing, Lydia was taking some time off. And then my first Olympic game, she was back in the sport. She won a bronze medal. So she was a massive inspiration for me and continues to be, I think, an absolutely incredible athlete. She's a really tough woman. And yeah, really, she's got a really strong mental game.
BEN WATERWORTH: In the lead up to your first Olympics in 2014, had a couple of wins on the World Cup stage and podiums. And that way you sort of, the way you were tracking with your progress, had you set yourself goals to, okay, get to an Olympics, make a final, you know, win this before that, or was it sort of a case of just get out there, see what you could achieve and then kind of address those goals as you were going along towards those first Olympics?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I think everybody has dreams of winning Olympic gold. I didn't think that I was at that level at my first Olympics in 2014. You've not only been in the sport for four or five years at that point, but it was an amazing experience, a massive learning experience. And I finished seventh, and I was happy with that at the time, but I also knew that it wasn't over yet. The tank wasn't empty. I still had a lot more to give, so I was just looking forward to training and improving and seeing how far I could get.
BEN WATERWORTH: I always love hearing from our guests that the Olympic experience outside of competition, getting the uniform, you've got the rings on it, the village experience, if you do any of the ceremonies and all that sort of stuff, do you kind of soak that in when you arrive? You're so focused on competition that you kind of reflect now and realise what it was like. I mean, do you remember that first Olympics and the feelings around it?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I think a little bit of both. In a sense, you try to think, like, it's not the Olympic Games, it's just like any normal day, do what you've trained to do, just be normal. But I think my second Olympic Games in 2018, I was able to take advantage of it a lot more and really soak up the experience and all the other things going on in the village. My first game saw a little bit of deer in headlights. So yeah, I'm really grateful to have had the two experiences.
BEN WATERWORTH: What was it like in Russia? I don't think we've ever really asked any of our Sochi guests on about the experience there, because I remember the lead up to those games, it was sort of all the controversy around it, then there was all the, oh, they're not built, they're not that. But I mean, they're the most expensive Olympics in the history of the Olympics. I mean, I've got to imagine that it was a bit of a showcase to kind of be there in a country like that that's putting on an Olympic Games.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, we spent a lot of time in Russia, actually. We have a couple of competitions in Russia almost every year. So we'd been there before, we'd been to the site before. We had a great accommodation, food was good, like everything was good for us. The site was good. There was obviously a lot going on. If I compare the security and stuff of Sochi to Pyeongchang, it was a lot tighter. But obviously, it was my first Olympics, I didn't know any difference, so I thought that was just sort of what the Olympic Games were like. What's Russian food?
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm just sorry to interrupt, I'm just intrigued when you mentioned about the food. I'm really trying to think about some Russian food that you would be eating there.
LAURA PEEL: Well, I think in the dining hall at the Olympic Games, it wasn't strictly Russian food, it was pretty international. When we go to Russia, they seem to sprinkle dill on almost anything. Yeah, I'm definitely not a fan of dill. But yeah, I mean, at the Olympics, it's all pretty international, you know.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, lining up the McDonald's all the time, is that kind of where the issues are?
LAURA PEEL: No, that wasn't in our village, you know. That was a two and a half hour drive from us.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, gee, you don't get the full Olympics. Did you at least get it in Pyeongchang?
LAURA PEEL: Again, it wasn't in our village, so it was a bus ride to get to McDonald's.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow.
LAURA PEEL: I did go. I did go.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, that's the main thing. You got to find yourself there, right? Like that's kind of the complete Olympic experience, having the McDonald's there. Another thing too, which I've found several, I think it's mainly our winter athletes on the show who are talking about the whole pin collecting thing, because obviously you get given the pins and sort of that. I mean, do you get soaked up in the pin collecting, even if you're not really into it beforehand?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I've never been into pins before the Olympics, but definitely you get a bunch of different Australian pins. And I try to keep, I think we've got three different pins. So I try to keep one of each for myself and then trade the rest. Some people all over it, they have hundreds by the end. I'm not quite at that level. But yeah, you know, you also try to trade some t-shirts or jackets or something. And yeah, it's a pretty fun experience.
BEN WATERWORTH: Is there one that you got that is kind of like the highlight of either a pin or a shirt that you managed to swap with another country or another athlete that you just kind of hold above the rest?
LAURA PEEL: Oh, I don't think any that I really hold above the rest. I do have a Russian jacket from 2014, which I suppose could be quite controversial now.
BEN WATERWORTH: Be valuable, yeah. Might have some secrets in it. You might have to search the pockets or something along those lines. Maybe just don't wear it, you know, that good.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, don't wear it out and about.
BEN WATERWORTH: But be something that they kind of might pin you up for. A year after Sochi, you win your first world championship, the fourth Australian to win the aerial world championship. What was that feeling like to kind of get to that mountain, kind of finish the event, have that gold medal around your neck? I mean, that must be a pretty incredible experience to have.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, absolutely incredible. I think also a little bit unexpected at that time. I had had some good results, but everyone turns in on at the Olympic Games and world championships. My final jump that I won the event with, it was only the third time I'd done that jump on snow, and it was actually the first time I'd ever properly landed it. So I gave everything I had at that event, and I was absolutely stoked to walk away with the gold.
BEN WATERWORTH: In terms of when you're in the air, obviously seconds we're talking about here until you kind of go on to your land. Is there enough time to think about, okay, I've pulled this off, I'll pull this off, it's all about the landing? I mean, does it kind of go into slow motion because you're sort of used to it? I mean, kind of, can you describe that feeling when you're in the midst of all those tricks before landing?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I think you certainly know pretty quickly if something's gone wrong. And there are times where, you know, I get up there and I know that I've really hit my takeoff and it's all going well, and I think I have nothing to do. Maybe I'll, you know, squeeze my feet together a little bit more. That's when you know you've really nailed it. But I think, yeah, you just, I mean, a little bit on autopilot. Obviously, Olympic final or World Cup final or World Championship final is not really a time to try and sort of change anything. So just a little bit on autopilot, trying to do what you've done plenty of times before. Probably don't get too ahead of myself thinking about the landing, just, you know, working through the process, I guess. But like you said, it all happens pretty quickly.
BEN WATERWORTH: How many seconds are we talking? Is it timed? Like how long do you generally have in a trick that you're doing?
LAURA PEEL: About three.
BEN WATERWORTH: Three seconds. That's crazy. Absolutely crazy. It's so fascinating to kind of always watch it. And I'm glad I'm not a judge because, you know, we're all armchair critics every Olympics. Oh, that was brilliant. We're still not over David Morris after what happened in Pyeongchang. But I mean, at the end of the day, it's crazy to think the amount of, you know, tricks and everything that you're doing in there. You're mentioning about sort of landing the first time on snow with that one. Is there one that you've been working towards that is sort of the goal? Like obviously what Lydia achieved in Sochi was a big deal for female aerials. I mean, is that achievable for you, Laura, to kind of achieve what she did? Or is it advanced that much now from what Lydia was doing back in 2014?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, so Lydia was the first woman to ever do a quadruple twisting, triple backslip on snow, which she did in Sochi. And since there's been one other woman to compete it, Ashley Caldwell from the USA. And I hope that's something that I can compete this year. I've so far done triple twisting, triple backflips. So still a work in progress on the quad. But yeah, definitely working towards that.
BEN WATERWORTH: What is it then to get to the quad? Is it more speed? Do you have to hit the gym more, more leg day? I mean, kind of, you know, cut down on the McDonald's. I mean, kind of what brings it from a triple to a quad to be able to achieve that?
LAURA PEEL: Well, it's definitely more technical. I guess there's more that could go wrong. You can't see the ground quite as much as you can in a triple twisting. It's blind in the in the double fall in the middle flip. It's a little bit scarier. Definitely a brain game going on. Obviously, the mental aspect is a massive part of our sport. But yeah, mainly it's a more technical trick. You don't necessarily need to have more speed. You don't necessarily need to be stronger for the landing than you do on a triple twisting, triple backflip. But it's more technical, and I would say it's more of a brain game as well.
BEN WATERWORTH: The one thing I love about watching aerials is the coach. I love kind of seeing your coach standing on that hill and just screaming at you in the middle of your routine and everything you're doing there. Is that something that actually helps, or are you just going, okay, no, that doesn't help a thing, please shut up?
LAURA PEEL: No, it definitely helps. So usually the coach is yelling something, either stretch, pull, or you're good. So stretch is probably have a little bit more rotation or air, so you need to make yourself a bit longer to slow down your flip rotation to land. Pull is if you're flipping a little bit slowly or you don't have much space, so you need to make your body as small as possible to get your feet to the ground first, and you're good is just, I guess, some reassurance. Keep doing what you're doing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do they ever just go, shit, shit, pull up, pull up, like you're not doing where we are?
LAURA PEEL: I mean, I have heard some coaches just joking around, they'll yell out something like give up in the air. Obviously that would never happen at a serious event.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which it's fascinating to hear that, that you're taking everything like it took you longer to explain that than it would to be actually doing it. And it's amazing to think just everything that you go through in the midst of that. I mean, it's such an incredible sport to think that you can retain all of that in the space of only three seconds.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, it's crazy to think sometimes it feels like, you know, less than three seconds, everything's happening so quickly, having no time at all to think. And then I guess sometimes it feels like you have all the time in the world and yeah, that's when it feels good.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, in that mental aspect that you're talking about it too, I'm assuming you work with sports psychologists, kind of things along those lines. But are there other sort of mental activities that you do for yourself, Laura, that kind of help with that? Like, I mean, you're just really good at Sudoku. I mean, kind of like, I mean, do you read lots of books? Like, I mean, kind of how do you train the brain like you would in a gym to help you in aerials?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, well, I use a lot of visualisation. So I try to have, you know, done the tricks in my brain before I do them in my body. And then, you know, there's only so many jumps that I can do physically, but there's not really any limit on how many I can do in my head. And then I also use a lot of breathing activities. You know, when I'm at the top of the jump, I'm really trying to cool myself down, sort of slow that heart rate down, be in a really calm frame of mind. That's what helps me to do the best jump. I feel like there's some athletes that probably need to amp themselves up a little. There's some that need to bring themselves down a bit. And I'm definitely one of the ones who needs to bring myself down a bit for sure.
BEN WATERWORTH: Because I'm always intrigued it's not more, say, like a field event in athletics where you're kind of you're at the top of the slopes and you're doing the clap, you know, come on, get the crowd involved, you know, kind of, you know, pump it up. I mean, are there some athletes that actually do that, as you're saying, kind of more sort of need that energy a little bit to kind of get them going? Would that help some athletes?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, definitely. I mean, you mentioned David Morris before, and we would joke about him being a bit of a show pony. You know, I think he often did his best work in competition when the crowd was there cheering on and all eyes on him, you know. So every athlete is different. And I think over your career, you find out what works for you, and there's definitely not one better option. It's just, yeah, what works for you.
BEN WATERWORTH: Recently engaged too. Congratulations to David. Yeah, exactly. Great news there. On the flip side of sort of calming yourself down, when you stick a landing and the crowd goes crazy, I mean, I can imagine just that adrenaline just takes over and that feeling must be like nothing else. Everything you've worked towards and there it is. You've done it. I mean, how is that when everything just goes completely to plan?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I think you just feel as light as a feather. I think I almost feel a sense of relief before anything else. And then, of course, the excitement kicks in. I mean, if you finish an event and you've done like absolutely everything you can, that's the best feeling.
BEN WATERWORTH: How was it going into Pyeongchang? Obviously you had that first Olympic experience behind you now. Coming into it, having won a world championship in between hand, you ultimately end up finishing fifth in tricky conditions. But I mean, I'm assuming you were going into that with every expectation that you could walk away with a gold medal.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, Pyeongchang was interesting. It was tough conditions. It was really windy and the wind affects our sport quite a lot because it changes the speed that you hit the jump at. Yeah, my goal going in, I really wanted to make the super final and then I wanted to perform the best jump that I could in the super final. I know I knew that I didn't have the highest degree of difficulty, so I thought, you know, I'll do the best jump I can and then let the chips fall where they may. I did make the super final, which of course I'm very proud of, but unfortunately wasn't able to pull off my best jump in the final.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which I love how it's called a super final. It's not just the final, it's the super final. It just adds a little bit more weight to it, I feel.
LAURA PEEL: Totally. Super.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, exactly, exactly. But I mean, to fifth in an Olympics now, can you reflect back on that now and kind of just think, well, you know, I'm progressing seventh in Sochi, fifth in Pyeongchang. I mean, that clearly says you're going to get third in Beijing, but we know it's not going to be a case it's going to be gold. But I mean, it's obviously that progression there that you can sort of reflect, might have been disappointing at the time. But now it's like, OK, well, fifth in Olympics is pretty good.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, I think when you look back on it, if you think fifth in the world, fifth at the Olympic Games, it's pretty special. I mean, I remember being a kid, and just anybody who even went to the Olympic Games was like a superhero in my mind. So it is interesting to reflect that, because I think in the moment, you can definitely be a bit hard on yourself. But yes, definitely got big goals, would like to finish better than fifth or seventh at these next ones in Beijing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Which do you then just take those experiences and kind of add it to everything? Because at the top of this interview, you're saying the amazing form you're sort of in at the moment kind of coming off the back of the last two seasons. I mean, is it a case of just, okay, putting that behind me, moving forward? What have you done basically differently since Pyeongchang to kind of move forward and bring the success that you've been able to have recently?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, so in Pyeongchang and Sochi, I competed double flips. I'm now competing triple flips. And I started working with a new coach in November of 2018. And he actually used to coach Lydia as well. He's an amazing coach. He's a Swiss team coach, and we kind of have a combined Aussie-Swiss team going on at the moment. And he's helped me a lot. I feel like, you know, we click really well, we make a great team, and he's really been able to bring the best out in me. So, yeah, like, I've been really enjoying the sport. Obviously, I've been pushing myself, doing triple flips at every competition. And, yeah, I mean, it's been a great team. So I think I've just been continuing to improve.
BEN WATERWORTH: Going towards the quads, which, you know, I'm just picturing it now. Beijing, superfinal, quad, land, gold, crowd goes crazy, gold medallist, stamp the next day, which is what, let's be honest, you don't want the gold medal. You want to be on the stamp. That's what all the Olympians are going for, isn't it?
LAURA PEEL: Well, after I won the World Championships in 2015, my dad actually made me some stamps with my face on them.
BEN WATERWORTH: Okay, so you've achieved that then. All right.
LAURA PEEL: It's not the Australia Post version, but you know.
BEN WATERWORTH: Still up there. Yeah, I mean, because I can imagine that's a fun experience. We had Chloe Esposito on recently, and it was kind of like getting a letter in the mail. Oh, there's my face. I've got my bill, but I'm on it. So, you know, it kind of takes away that sting from getting a bill a little bit more. One thing I love about when you win the World Cup is the Crystal Globe is one of the greatest sports trophies in the world. Do you get that? Is that kind of like the one of those show ones where it's like, hey, let's put it back in the thing, or do you get a replica of it or kind of, and if you do, where do you keep it?
LAURA PEEL: No, yeah, we definitely get to keep them. So I've got two now, and it's not the easiest thing in the world to travel home with, but definitely worth it. I think the one I got this year was eight kilos.
BEN WATERWORTH: Wow.
LAURA PEEL: They're massive. And yeah, beautiful. So yeah, just on the sideboard at home.
BEN WATERWORTH: Just sitting there, casually, friends walking in. Oh yeah, it's just, you know, well-cut crystal globe. There it is, you know, just sitting there. Which...
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, people do definitely admire it.
BEN WATERWORTH: Eight kilos, that's more than you carry on, I think, on most airlines. How on earth do you get it back home?
LAURA PEEL: Well, I've been travelling a lot lately, so you become quite good at just managing with your luggage, honestly. We always have way too much stuff, and you just gotta find a way to make it work, I guess. Although I did, when I came home from the winter season, I quarantined in Perth, so then I had to fly home from Canberra, and I was actually charged excess baggage to bring my globe home, which I was a bit disappointed by.
BEN WATERWORTH: Geez, you think at some point, some baggage checking person might look at that and go, well, that's clearly something important.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, it would have been nice.
BEN WATERWORTH: Do you have to book an extra seat, though, for it next to you? I mean, I guess you're not gonna put it under your seat or kind of put it in the overhead locker, are you?
LAURA PEEL: Well, yeah, I just wrapped it up in bubble wrap and just kept it with me, and I did actually put it under the seat in front of me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Okay. I think that would be a great conversation starter that you could just maybe put in the middle seat, have somebody next to you, and just, oh, what's this? Oh, what's World Cup? You know, champion here it is again. You know, just have a casual conversation, maybe with the person next to you.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, travelling through the airport in Montreal, when it went through the scanner at the security check, the woman actually asked me, is that a crystal globe? So she obviously followed skiing sports, so she was all over it.
BEN WATERWORTH: It would be such a fun, and again, given, I guess, the exposure of the sport in Australia, it's kind of, it's one of those things where, yeah, I guess not many people would know what it looks like as well. So that's why you got charged the excess baggage. You're there going like, no, this is like World Cup. Like, one thing, yeah, I'm sure, and I'm an Olympic gold medallist too. He's $50 fine.
LAURA PEEL: Seriously, you definitely get a lot more recognition, like over in North America and Europe, which is a little bit sad, I guess.
BEN WATERWORTH: Added to that, though, obviously, the World Championship again earlier this year to be two-time World Champion, to win it all in the same year. I mean, it's obviously a lot about hitting your peak in an Olympiad to kind of get there towards an Olympic Games. I mean, are you feeling right now that you can't do anything more really? You're in that peak that this is where you are meant to be going towards an Olympics in this form that you are carrying right now.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, winning the World Championships earlier this year was definitely the highlight of my career. So we actually have a little bit of a different competition format for the Olympic Games and for World Championships. So we don't actually get to practise that format too often. It's different in all the World Cups. So to be able to pull off my best performance when it really mattered in the World Championships and with that format, and I along with one other girl, we had the highest degree of difficulty in the competition. So something that I'm really proud of. And I guess I don't feel like there's not more that I can do. I think there is more that I can do. So I guess that's what keeps me going in the sport. I want to see how far I can get and how far I can push myself. And there's a lot of girls right there alongside me with amazing skill levels. And yeah, so like I said, I can't get complacent. Got to, you know, head down, bum up, keep working.
BEN WATERWORTH: Keep going towards the goal. And what is kind of the process now between now and Beijing? Sort of what do you have to do to book that ticket officially to your third Olympics?
LAURA PEEL: So it all depends on rankings and things like that. So our final qualification World Cups will be in January this year, I think, and yeah, then we'll find out officially not long before the Games. So we've got about another month training on the water ramp, and then in early October, we'll head to snow. We'll be training on snow until the first World Cup of the season in early December. We'll have about five World Cups, and then it'll be the Olympic Games, and I feel like it's just around the corner, really.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, it's ridiculous how quick it's sort of coming about there, too, but I mean, not only the mood amongst yourself and with the aerial team, but I mean, just the freestyle team in general. Obviously, Maddie Graham took the World Cup as well. So I mean, kind of what is the mood like just amongst everyone right now heading into an Olympics with all the sort of the success that is coming off that and feeding off the Tokyo Olympics? I mean, there just must be so much energy amongst everyone right now.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, it's interesting because we're all like a little bit separated, especially with all COVID. We all did manage to get together, the winter sports community, at the end of April this year. And we weren't able to do that the year before because of COVID. So it was pretty cool to have everybody in one room. And we've always been a reasonably small team, especially if you compare it to the summer games. But I think that's something that makes it pretty special. You know, you're pretty tight knit. You get to know all the other athletes and a pretty powerful team considering how small we are. So yeah, it's exciting and I think you feed on other people's success. You know, you see people doing well in other sports and you know them or you're friends with them and that spurs you on to keep pushing. Yeah, it's just a really great community to be a part of.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm going to close out with a series of fun questions we like to do with each of our interviews here, Laura. But one thing that I always like to find from different sports on this show is sledging. Is sledging a thing in aerial skiing? Can you walk past a competitor like in sort of the top of the heel and just kind of give them a bit of a, you know, like, I had your last jump, Cypter, you know, you should have tucked a little bit more on that one. I mean, kind of like, is there, and if there isn't, can we introduce this? Because I feel like there is some, you know, ways you could go about that.
LAURA PEEL: You know, honestly, I feel like aerial skiing is more like you're at the top being like, come on, you've got this. Because we're all out there, we all know how scary it is. And yeah, it's a small sport, and yeah, you're more encouraging your competitors actually, which seems a bit strange, but it's like skateboarding we just saw in Tokyo.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, I mean, everyone was hugging each other, like, come on, no, you're at the Olympics. Come on, there's got to be something going on there. I just think, I just think there's got to be something there, you know, just kind of some, you know, gentle little word or kind of something and maybe get under the skin, like, you know, Beijing, it's the Olympics, once in a lifetime opportunity to be in the Olympics. You never know what you could do to another competitor to help you win gold.
LAURA PEEL: I've got to say, it's not my style.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, you never know how things could play out there. Now we wrap up every interview, Laura, with a series of fun questions. Now, these are based on a Team Canada questionnaire that they asked their athletes in the lead up to Rio and Pyeongchang. So they are not necessarily Canadian based. There is homework. If you want to do some drawing, you can draw a Canadian animal. That's entirely up to you. If you're so inclined to, feel free to shoot it through to us. Ash Werner, Bob Sledder, she did it. So you never know, competitive out there in the world of winter sports. So we'll see how we go. But I'm going to start off with the first question. As a kid, your favourite sports team were?
LAURA PEEL: My favourite sports team? I don't know. I'll go with the the Canberra Brumbies.
BEN WATERWORTH: Canberra Brumbies. Yeah. In super rugby, of course. I remember when they got, went to a wedding as a kid. And the guy who was getting married was from Canberra. And I think the final was on that night. So it was kind of like he was getting married, but then trying to watch the final. Yeah, it didn't really. I don't think his wife was too happy on that night. Your favourite ever Olympic memory is, and you can say your own memories from your two Olympics if you want to.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I reckon my favourite ever Olympic memory. I mean, watching Dave Morris win the silver in such was pretty cool being in the crowd for that.
BEN WATERWORTH: Nice. And how many times did you get to wear that medal? Was he sharing it around or did you just not want to take it off that night?
LAURA PEEL: I've definitely put it on. Not too many times. I think it means more if it's your own, you know.
BEN WATERWORTH: But yeah, you kind of take a sneaky photo and go, well, this looks good. I mean, this is going to happen one day. That inspiration, you can look at yourself with one around your neck and go, okay.
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, it felt like it suited me.
BEN WATERWORTH: Looks pretty well. I think this will suit me very well. Who are your favourite music artists?
LAURA PEEL: Oh, I hate this question. Recently, I've been enjoying Ziggy Albert's tunes.
BEN WATERWORTH: Okay, nice.
LAURA PEEL: Good.
BEN WATERWORTH: All right. I like to ask questions that people hate on this show. It's rare. So kind of, you know, I'll test the waters with these ones. Where is your favourite place to compete?
LAURA PEEL: My favourite place to compete? Well, you know, I've been to Austria twice, and I've won in Austria twice.
BEN WATERWORTH: So Austria is a good hunting ground for you.
LAURA PEEL: But maybe we should say Beijing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Okay, yes. Have you actually competed where the Olympics will be? Have you checked out where the event will be held?
LAURA PEEL: No, we haven't, actually. The test events were cancelled last year. So we have not been able to get to the site. I think the Chinese athletes have had some time on there. So hopefully we get a test event in before the Olympic Games, but we'll see.
BEN WATERWORTH: I'm not sure if they're doing a Beijing 2022 video game. Not sure it probably would help too much, but you never know. I mean, it's better than nothing, right?
LAURA PEEL: We've seen some pictures. Seen some pictures.
BEN WATERWORTH: And when you see pictures, though, is it something that can help? Like, you can sort of guess sort of how that will be when you are competing there and kind of visualise sort of how that may affect you in competition?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I mean, we're trying to make all the sites sort of as similar as possible. You know, the angles of the jumps are supposed to be the same and the steepest of the landing hill. But every site's a little bit different. You know, the in-run could be a little bit steeper or flatter. The transition could be a little bit longer or shorter. So there are different things like that too that you need to get used to when you change around sites.
BEN WATERWORTH: What is one thing that you have always wanted to do?
LAURA PEEL: One thing I've always wanted to do? I'd like to go heli-skiing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Oh, that would be fun. Wow. Okay. Well, when you've got that gold medal around your neck, you can probably get a lot of things given to you.
LAURA PEEL: I've got some free time after Beijing.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, you might have it kind of like with the crystal glow, but this was an Olympic gold medal. You could just be like, hey, heli-skiing, make it happen. Done. That's instead of the stamp. Done the stamp, get the heli-skiing. What is your favourite movie?
LAURA PEEL: Oh, so many. That's a really hard question. Different movies for different moods.
BEN WATERWORTH: Well, if you're right now, what's your mood? Oh, ten things I heard about you. Good movie, yes. Yes.
LAURA PEEL: Romcom.
BEN WATERWORTH: Young Heath Ledger. Like back sort of, you know, was that his first ever Hollywood movie? I don't know. Gosh, that was...
LAURA PEEL: It was a while ago, though. Just before I cracked a few times. Teenage years.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, no, that is... Isn't it based off a Shakespeare play? Like it's sort of a warped version of... Is it Much Ado About Nothing? One of those ones. Yeah.
LAURA PEEL: Wow. Yeah, that's a good one, though.
BEN WATERWORTH: Yeah, my Shakespeare knowledge is basically limited, Laura, so I'm sure I've just offended our Shakespearean fans going, no, not that one. God, don't you know anything? Now, this question here is, your favourite place to visit in Canada. I'm going to switch that up to your favourite place to visit in Australia.
LAURA PEEL: Well, I don't get to go home a lot, so I really love to go home, and I know people sometimes say rude things about Canberra, but you know, I absolutely love it.
BEN WATERWORTH: It's always interesting when I hear that about Canberra, because I've only been a couple of times, but I thoroughly enjoyed Canberra over time I've been, you know, it's not that bad. Yeah, I mean, the War Memorial, you know, the museum there is great. Questacon, is Questacon still a thing?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, I think everyone has memories of Questacon from year six camp in Canberra, but I promise there is more to see than just those things.
BEN WATERWORTH: So when people say, Hobart, I went to Mona. Cool, did you see anything else? No, I just went to Mona. There's a big mountain overlooking everything along those lines. Laura, before we let you go, social media, anything out there that people can sort of follow your progress in the lead up to Beijing or anything else that you want to give a plug out to on the show today?
LAURA PEEL: Yeah, more or less. You can follow me on Instagram. My Instagram handle is Lea underscore Snowgee, S-N-O-W-G-I. I'm a bit of a yogi as well in my spare time, so that's where that comes from. Otherwise, that's about it.
BEN WATERWORTH: I was going to ask, where does the Snowgee come from? But I mean, you answered it right there in giving that. So thank you for that. And thank you for your time, Laura. A lot of fun. We're seriously looking so forward to seeing you out there in a few months' time in Beijing. As I said, the stamp, the heli skiing and all that kind of stuff. I want you to take this on board. Daniel Ricciardo famously said after one of the races that he did very well in, that you've sometimes just got to lick the stamp and send it. So think about that winning gold that you will have to get there and you will get a stamp after it. So lick the stamp and send it in Beijing, Laura.
LAURA PEEL: I'll take that advice on board.
BEN WATERWORTH: And a massive, massive thanks here to Laura for her time speaking to me from Switzerland, which is a place that I would dearly love to go. So fantastic that she was able to give us a time, and we are keeping a very close eye on Laura ahead of Beijing. So very exciting times to be an Olympic fan in Australia, in Canada, anywhere in the world, as we get closer and closer to Beijing. The real Olympics, as I like to call the Winter Olympics. No disrespect to our Summer Olympic fans and friends and athletes. We love you equally, but I've got a bit of bias towards the Winter Olympics. So that's why I like to call them that. But we've got plenty of great interviews coming your way. I don't like to tease anymore. I said this last week on our Eric Radford interview that I don't like to tease in terms of who we've got, because we've got so many great ones that we've got lined up, that we don't know who it's gonna be, because who knows? And we also like to keep it a bit of a surprise when it comes now to that interview and who the guests will be coming that way. So the best way to stay up to date with who we've got on or what the episode may be, it might not even be an interview next, we might have a special episode for you around something that Jarrod Cullen and I wanna talk about. Hit us up on social media, search for Off The Podium, and remember to like us or follow us on whatever platform you are there. Send us a message, we'd like to know what you're thinking of the show. Maybe there's a guest you want to get on that we haven't had on yet, that perhaps you wanna subtract down, or maybe a subject matter that you would like us to cover here on Off The Podium. We are open to hear your ideas. Send us a message, and we would appreciate the feedback, as we would the feedback on all of the podcast platforms. That's right, just subscribe to all of them. Get all the download limits on your phone and your computer loaded up with all Off The Podium episodes. We're an Apple podcast, Google podcast, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeart, radio, Amazon podcast. Hell, we're probably on that podcast service. It has not even been invented yet, and we're already on there, but subscribe, you'll never miss an episode. Go through our back catalogue, and download to any of the past interviews that you may have missed. Episodes covering the Olympics and everything else in between. And as I said, we appreciate your feedback. Give us a rating, and let us know what you think of the show. Big thanks again to Laura for her time, and a big thanks to you for listening. It means a lot to me personally, and Laura, I'm sure, and Colin and Garrett, they're listening as well. My name is Ben, this has been Off The Podium. We'll speak to you next time.
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