Former Australian pathways diver Gabi Ash will take to the snow this Sunday to make her Olympic debut at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.

Gabi, who began aerial skiing in 2016 after retiring from diving, will be competing in the Women’s Aerials on Sunday night alongside fellow Australians Laura Peel and Danielle Scott.

As a diver Gabi was crowned Victorian Elite Junior Champion and was a finalist at the Australian Open Championships.

Tommy Michael, one of Gabi’s former coaches in Melbourne who now serves as the Head Coach with the Western Australian Institute of Sport, just one of many supporters of Gabi from the diving community.

“I got goosebumps when I found out that Gabi made the Winter Olympic Team. I messaged her as soon as I found out to congratulate her. It was almost like a proud parent moment,” Tommy said, “I have never had an athlete move on to another sport and make an Olympic Team.”

Tommy, who himself had a successful post-diving career as a high diver, notes that skills learned in diving transition well into other sports such as aerial skiing.

“Diving is a sport that teaches resilience. There is a lot of trial and error in our sport, to make those errors over and over and move forward in the sport takes a lot of guts.

“In this particular case diving teaches spotting, kinaesthetic sense and aerial awareness, all of which Gabi had in diving that is needed in aerial skiing.

“Gabi was an eager and dedicated diver. She was committed to all aspects of the sport. She picked up new skills quite quickly, especially her twisting skills, which is a huge element in aerial skiing,” Tommy said.

Gabi will make her Olympic debut on Sunday Feb 13 at 19:00 Beijing time (22:00 AEDT). Watch live on 7plus or follow along at www.olympics.com.au.

From all of us at Diving Australia, we wish Gabi the very best of luck in her competition.