Aerials, Women
Date 21 - 24 February 1994
Status Olympic
Location Kanthaugen Freestyle Arena, Lillehammer
Participants 22 from 13 countries
Venue details Inrun Distance: 60 m
Inrun Gradient: 25°
Landing Distance: 37 m
Landing Gradient: 37°
Start Elevation: 418 m
Vertical Drop: 50 m
The heavy favorite was Uzbeki Lina Cheryazova who had won all the World Cup events on the 1993-94 circuit. But she barely made the final, placing 12th in qualifying to secure the last spot in the final. Two other medal favorites, Nikki Stone (USA) and Colette Brand (SUI) performed even worse, placing 13th and 15th, and did not make the final. The final was different as her back-lay-tuck-full earned her 92.92 points, to take an 11+ point lead over Sweden’s Marie Lindgren. Cheryazova placed only sixth in the second round, but her lead was sufficient to earn her the gold medal, the first Olympic medal ever won for Uzbekistan. Lindgren again placed second on her second jump to win silver. The bronze medal went to Norway’s Hilda Synnøve Lid, who had the best jump of the second round with her back full-full. Shortly after the gold medal ceremony, Cheryazova was told that her mother had died three weeks earlier while she was training for the Olympics. Her dying wish had been not to tell her daughter, so she could concentrate on winning the gold medal. Five months later, on 13 July 1994, Cheryazova slammed her head against a jump ramp while training in Lake Placid, New York. Sustaining a brain injury, she was in a coma for over a week, but recovered and returned to competition in 1995 and competed again at the 1998 Winter Olympics.
Pos Skier NOC
1 Lina Cheryazova UZB
2 Marie Lindgren SWE
3 Hilde Synnøve Lid NOR
4 Maja Schmid SUI
5 Nataliya Sherstneva UKR
6 Kirstie Marshall AUS
7 Tracy Evans USA
8 Caroline Olivier CAN
9 Elfie Simchen GER
10 Yuliya Rakovich BLR
11 Inna Paliyenko UKR
12 Nataliya Orekhova RUS
13 Nikki Stone USA
14 Liselotte Johansson SWE
15 Colette Brand SUI
16 Jacqui Cooper AUS