Livigno: Australian aerial skiing star Laura Peel is being given every chance to overcome a knee injury she suffered in a pre-Olympics camp and take her place at Milan Cortina 2026, chef de mission Alisa Camplin said.
Peel hurt her knee while training in Airolo, Switzerland on Monday and has undergone an MRI scan but no further details about the extent of the damage have been released by the Australian team.
The 36-year-old is aiming to participate in her fourth Olympic Games and finally claim a medal after finishing fifth at Beijing 2022. She has time on her side, as she is not due to compete until February 17 – almost two weeks away.
“She’s working with her coaches and physios and sports psychologists trying to work out what is the plan for every single day? She’s still got many days until her competition,” Camplin told reporters in Livigno on Wednesday.
“I’ve kind of led them to their collective bubble to work out what is the right journey from right now to the Games for her. I check in every day. Wellbeing is so important to me.
“I know she’s got all the right people around her and I’m just trying to let her get the right mindset to work out what’s the right pathway for her through these Games.”
Laura Peel competes at a World Cup event at Lake Placid in New York last month.Credit: Getty Images
Freestyle skiier and newly-appointed Australian flagbearer Matt Graham is hopeful Peel can tick all the required boxes and take her place on the start line – but as Camplin pointed out, he himself is an example that a disrupted preparation is not necessarily an insurmountable obstacle.
Graham snapped his collarbone one month out from the last Winter Olympics, while another member of Australia’s 53-athlete team, Daisy Thomas, ruptured her ACL but is still planning to take part.
