A latecomer to skiing, Alisa Camplin was both a national junior sailing champion and a competitive gymnast in her teens.
In 1994 she attended a ski show in Melbourne where the Australian aerial skiing program had set up a harness and trampoline and invited audience members to try their hand at the sport. She was spotted by one of the coaches present and, despite being unable to ski, was awarded a place on the national development squad.
By 1997 she had made enough progress to be handed her World Cup debut and over the next five years she made regular visits to the top ten of World Cup events although she was unable to complete a first victory. Australia had high hopes of a victory in the women’s aerials at the 2002 Winter Games but it was former world champion Jacqui Cooper who shouldered their expectation of a first Olympic championship.
When Cooper was forced out of the Olympics through injury Camplin proved a more than able replacement in Australian affections. She was able to put two high quality jumps together and finished three points ahead of the field to gain the Olympic title.
Camplin later revealed that she had competed in Salt Lake City with fractures in both ankles.
It was a sign of her lack of expertise in skiing that she tripped over her skis and fell on her way to talk to reporters following her victory.
To prove that her success was not a one-off she added both World Championship and World Cup titles in 2003 and retained the World Cup in 2004. Illness and injury ruined the 2004-05 season but she returned for 2005-06 and, once again saving her best performance of the season for the Olympics, took the bronze at the Winter Games in Torino. Camplin retired from skiing after the Games and went on to set up her own ski touring business. In 2007 was appointed a director of the Australian Sports Foundation
Australia