Gabi Ash ready for Aerials World Championships debut

Twenty-two year old Gabi Ash will compete in her maiden World Championships Aerials event tonight in the mountain resort of Shymbulak, the venue of the 2021 Almaty FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships.

Ash is the youngest of three Australian athletes at the start, the others being two-time Olympians Danielle Scott and Laura Peel, who is also the reigning Aerials FIS World Cup winner and 2015 World Champion.

Ash said that having athletes like Peel and Scott to look up to has certainly helped with her development.
 
"It's really motivating to train alongside two powerhouses in the sport. Laura and Danielle have different approaches to training and competition that work for them, so as a developing athlete it's very cool to be able to pick their brains about certain things and watch and learn from them," Ash said.
 
"I think the secret to Australian success is that there has always been a strong role model to look up to, whether it’s Jacqui [Cooper], Lydia [Lassila], Alisa [Camplin], Laura, Dani or Dave [Morris], just to name a few. I’ve found that training with more experienced athletes is really beneficial for developing athletes."
 
Ash's growth has been remarkable in the last couple of years. The 2019/20 campaign was a breakout season for her and after only three World Cup starts she has already been able to produce a top-10 World Cup performance in Deer Valley.
 
"Honestly, in the lead up to the event I was just so excited to be there and to be able to compete. There was a lot of uncertainty around competition this season, so to be back on snow was just awesome.
 
"Despite not having the usual crowd [due to COVID-19 mitigation strategies], the atmosphere at Deer Valley is always so much fun to be a part of. I put down a good Lay-Full in qualifications, finishing 12th and making it into my first finals.
 
"In the finals the conditions were quite warm as the sun was directly on the site. I had to pull a bit in my Lay-Full, but I put it to my feet, so I was happy. The whole experience of qualifying for the finals and being in front of the cameras was quite a new experience. I’m excited for more to come!"

Ash credits her fast progression to the fact that she was able to work with several coaches who all had different approaches to training and gave her the chance to be exposed to multiple perspectives on skills and technique development. Ash also trained in Europe alongside the Swiss team, which improved her ability to adapt to different environments and conditions.
 
"I couldn’t have developed as an athlete without the support staff, the ones with me on the road and those back home. Their commitment to improving my strength, nutrition and mental strategies has really aided my progression."
 
Ash and Scott were some of the athletes who had the opportunity to train at the brand new Geoff Henke Olympic Winter Training Centre before travelling overseas. The dry-land training facility, located at Brisbane’s Sleeman Sports Centre, was a huge success amongst the Australian team and one that got Ash excited about training domestically all year round in the future.
 
"I feel so lucky to be a part of a generation of Australian aerial skiers who are finally able to train at a world class facility on home soil. The opportunity to train all year round on the water ramp is a huge advantage for us and it will help promote the sport in Australia. It will also allow us to spend more time at home and be closer to friends and family, with more flexibility around our training. The benefits are endless!"

 
During the recent camps, including the last one in Airolo, Switzerland, Ash worked mostly on consistency, trying to increase the degree of difficulty of her jumps and regularly land some Full-Fulls, something the Australian audience might see in Almaty.
 
"At the World Championships my goal is to do some big jumps with solid landings, which will hopefully set me up for a good result," Ash said.
 
A good performance in her World Championships debut would be another significant stepping stone in Ash's journey towards the next Olympic Winter Games. Gabi hopes to make the team alongside her sister Sophie, who is a mogul skier on the national team, but won't be competing in Almaty.
 
"We definitely talked about [the dream of going to the Olympics together] on a few occasions! It would be awesome to experience our first Olympics together. It's always cool when the moguls and aerials World Cup events overlap and I'm able to watch her compete and vice versa. Being at the Olympics together would be amazing," she said.
 
With fierce competition to contend with, Australian fans might not be able to see all three athletes on the podium together in Almaty. But as the Australian school of Aerials continues to produce World-class talents, and with state-of-the-art training facilities now available at home, that moment might not be too far off.
 
"That would be epic, if the Aussies swept the podium!" Ash said. "I have no doubt that, in the near future, that will be a possibility at a major event," Ash said.

The Almaty 2021 FIS Freestyle World Championships continue today with the Aerials competitions. Finals kick off at 8pm AEDT, fans can follow the action live at www.snow.org.au/live.
 

📷 | Chris Hocking / OWIA