Monday, January 09, 2006

Australian aerial skier Lainie Cole has jumped to the first top five result of her career, finishing in fifth place in a World Cup in Mont Gabriel, Canada.

Cole qualified in tenth place with a double twisting double somersault, then stepped up to a triple twisting double in the final to climb five places in the overall result.

Her previous best result was an eighth place, recorded in Changchung, China, last month and also at Mt Buller in September 2004.

Flying Kangaroos team-mate Bree Munro finished in 14th place, while Liz Gardner was down the back of the field in 22nd position.

The event was won by Swiss veteran Evelyne Leu on 195.44 points from team-mate Manuella Mueller on 185.93 points. Tatiana Kozachenko of the Ukraine took the bronze with 178.91 points.

Cole's 169.69 points was also a personal best for the 27-year-old Victorian, who had already met the Australian Olympic Committee's qualifying standard for a place in the team for Torino 2006.

Defending World Cup champion Nina Li showed she was no certainly for an Olympic medal, finishing in tenth place after missing the landing on her second jump.

Courtesy OWI/Sportcom