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Laura Peel says career won't be defined by crash in Pyeongchang Olympics final

Eamonn Tiernan

Updated ,first published

Aerial skier Laura Peel says her career won't be defined by three seconds of an Olympic final, but rather everything she did to get there.

Peel went agonisingly close to securing a medal but crash-landed her final jump to finish fifth at the Pyeongchang Games last month.

Laura Peel was agonisingly close to securing a medal but crash-landed her final jump to finish fifth at the Pyeongchang Games last month.KIN CHEUNG

The dual Olympian bettered her seventh place at the 2014 Sochi Games but couldn't continue Australia's run of podium finishes in the women's aerials at the previous four Olympics.

Peel, 28, was unable to complete a back-double-full-full in the six-woman super final after landing a back-full-full and back-full-double-full in the opening two rounds.

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Laura Peel crashes out in the women's aerial skiing final.

Half the field crashed in a bizarre final marred by wind and despite the tough conditions, Peel never wavered in her decision to go for gold.

"I wasn't really paying attention to the girls in front of me and I was just focusing on me and trying to put down my jump," Peel said.

"At the Olympics you want to showcase what you're capable of and balance that with jumps you can perform and they are jumps I can perform, but there was a huge speed difference which was challenging.

"Between my second jump and last jump there was a four-kilometre speed difference which is quite a lot, so I had trouble with the wind but I wasn't alone, everyone had to deal with it."

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The 2015 world champion and a seven-time World Cup medal winner said it was frustrating her sport couldn't deliver its best while the world was watching.

"It was disappointing for competitors and the sport not being able to showcase the best everyone is capable of but we all did what he could under the circumstances," Peel said.

"I left it all out there and secured a top five finish which is still pretty cool. I'm definitely happy I made the super final, I would have liked to put down the best jump but unfortunately I couldn't.

"I think it's important to reflect back on the whole experience and everything that it took to get there, not the three seconds every four years, it's something I'm definitely proud of and being an Olympian is something that sticks with you forever."

The Canberran is back home and staying put for the next few months before she decides whether to pursue a third Olympics at Beijing 2022.

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Peel has been soaking up the sunshine since returning to the capital last week and made her first trip to the beach in almost 12 months on Sunday.

"The sun is nice and I'm enjoying taking a little time out. We just kind of planned up to the day of the Olympics and I didn't think too far beyond that," Peel said.

"I'm enjoying just relaxing and spending time with family and friends and I'll decide in the next couple of months what the future holds.

"I'm studying nutrition and I teach yoga in Braddon when I'm home, but I don't know really, you can't plan life out too much.

"I keep telling myself I'm still young and I'll keep studying for now. I'm not committing to Beijing but I'm not ruling it out either."

In Pyeongchang, Belarusian Hanna Huskova won gold after scoring 96.14 on her third attempt, a back-lay-full-full, with Chinese pair Xin Zhang and Fanyu Kong winning silver and bronze respectively.

Eamonn TiernanEamonn Tiernan is a sports reporter with The Canberra TimesConnect via X or email.

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