Four years ago in PyeongChang bad weather wrecked Australian aerial skiers chances of securing a medal at a fifth successive Games.
Danielle Scott, who went into the 2018 on the back of winning silver at the world titles, missed the six-woman super final.
Laura Peel only needed to land her final jump for a medal but ended up fifth after strong winds caused havoc and she crashed and was only able to manage a score of 55.34.
It was a far cry from Peel’s recent World Cup score of 118.05 points.
Belarusian Hanna Huskova won gold ahead of the Chinese pair of Zhang Xin and Kong Fanyu.
The snow tumbling down this weekend has made Zhangjiakou look like a winter wonderland but it could turn to a scene of horror for Australia’s Olympic aerialists.
The pair enter qualifying on Sunday night among the gold-medal favourites, particularly world champion Peel.
A cold front is forecast ahead of the finals on Monday night but Peel felt better prepared for any conditions this time around.
Peel, Scott and Gabi Ash tested out the competition jump through the week when the sun was shining although a cold front is forecast ahead of the finals on Monday night.
“It’s always nice to jump in conditions like this,” Peel told AAP.
“It can get windy here so when you get a perfect day you get a bit on edge worrying about what’s coming.
“We know it can be windy but we’ve trained in all conditions and I’ve got a really great team so I think we will manage it as best we can.”
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- Laura Peel of Australia during a Freestyle Aerials training session at the Genting Snow Park, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, Saturday, February 12, 2022. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
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- Danielle Scott of Australia during a Freestyle Aerials training session at the Genting Snow Park, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, Saturday, February 12, 2022. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
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- Danielle Scott of Australia during a Freestyle Aerials training session at the Genting Snow Park, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, Saturday, February 12, 2022. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
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- Danielle Scott of Australia during a Freestyle Aerials training session at the Genting Snow Park, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, Saturday, February 12, 2022. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
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- Laura Peel of Australia during a Freestyle Aerials training session at the Genting Snow Park, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, Saturday, February 12, 2022. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
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- Danielle Scott of Australia during a Freestyle Aerials training session at the Genting Snow Park, during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games, in Beijing, China, Saturday, February 12, 2022. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
During a two-hour session Peel nailed a number of back full-full-full jumps, which only a handful of athletes including Scott have mastered.
The Canberra ace has also landed a quadruple twisting triple backflip in training but was unsure if she would bring it out in Beijing.
While there’s gold medal pressure on Australia’s flag bearer, Peel said more was coming from within.
“I know what I’m capable of and what I want to do and I think I will disappointed if I don’t do my best,” she said.
Kong Fanyu is currently second in the World Cup rankings behind another Chinese veteran Xu Mengtao, who helped her country to silver in the mixed team competition.
American Ashley Caldwell also scored well with Team USA surprise gold medal winners.
