Lydia Lassila

Lydia Lassila is a freestyle skier and Olympic gold medalist from Australia who competed at the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Olympic Winter Games. She is well-known for her diligence in recovering from a serious knee injury to come back and win Olympic Gold. Lydia Lassila is of Greek and Italian ancestry. She was born on January 17, 1982, in Melbourne, Australia. Lydia grew up in a suburban area outside of Melbourne known as Sunshine, where she completed her elementary and high school educations. Lydia completed her college education at RMIT University and graduated with a degree in Applied Science with a focus on the science of human movement. Her husband, Lauri Lassila, is a former Finnish freestyle skier who placed 2nd in the Freestyle Skiing World Championships in 1999.

In June 2005, Lydia suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and underwent a radical reconstruction of her knee. The surgeons used a replacement Achilles tendon to repair Lydia's knee, in the hope that her knee would be stronger and heal more quickly than it would if her own ACL was repaired. She participated in many months of exhaustive physical therapy because her goal was to return in top shape to the slopes, in time for the start of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Unfortunately, during the second qualifying round of the Winter Olympics, Lydia's knee collapsed on impact after she attempted to land following a difficult trick.

Lydia was crushed. She was prepared to retire from professional skiing after rupturing her ACL a second time. However, she drew strength and inspiration from her fellow teammates, Jacqui Cooper and Alisa Camplin, who had also suffered comparable knee injuries and had returned to the sport. Lydia vowed to do what it took to recover and return to professional skiing as soon as she completely recovered from her second knee injury. At the time, she was only 24 years old.

Lydia Lassila- Career Highlights

Lydia made her return to competitive, freestyle skiing in the World Cup competition only 16 months later in the winter of 2007. At her debut, she won a silver medal in the very first event. In the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Lydia won a gold medal. This was only the second gold medal that an Australian skier had even won in the Olympic Winter Games. On October 20, 2010, Lydia was inducted into the Australian Sports Hall of Fame.