Place in big air final not to be but pair still buzzing

New Zealand freeskiers Sylvia Trotter and Ruby Star Andrews put together a fierce effort in the qualification rounds of the big air at the Winter Olympics yesterday.

Both missed out on spots in the final, finishing 21st and 24th respectively.

Trotter, 18, made an outstanding start to her competition, putting down a textbook landing on her right-side double 1080 with a Japan grab, earning a score of 83, which put her in sixth place at the end of the first run.

Having struggled to nail down her runs in training, Trotter described her effort in qualifying as "one of the best feelings in the world".

She still needed another solid score, however, as big-air athletes are judged on the best two of their three jumps in qualifying.

Trotter could not quite hold on to the landing of her switch-left 900 on her second run, and her score of 20.75 meant the pressure was on for jump three if she was to make the 12-strong final.

Going for the same trick on her third and final attempt, she landed cleanly, but the judges docked points for not holding on to her grab.

Her score of 38 was not enough to bump her up the scoreboard.

Trotter described her first Olympic experience as "monumental" and "so special", and said a taste of action at the top level had only made her hungry for more.

Andrews was able to put three solid jumps to her feet, opting for a switch 900 spun both left and right, but also losing points for not holding her grabs.

Her best scores were 44.50 on her first jump and 48.25 on her second.

Coming back from a dislocated hip just three months ago, Andrews said she had proved something to herself during the competition.

"I wasn’t 100% sure if I was going to do the big air this week, and I thought ‘you know what? I’m at the Olympics. I’m just going to give it my all’.

"It’s been a really tough couple of weeks testing my resilience.

"Somehow, I managed to dig a bit deeper, find a bit more and give it everything, so I feel like I can walk away feeling like I gave it my all.

"I’m really happy with how I skied. I just wanted to show up tonight and give it everything and walk away and be proud of myself."

Coach Hamish MacDougall said he was exceptionally proud of Andrews’ efforts.

"Three months ago, I was holding her hand while we were waiting for a helicopter to come and scoop her up and put her hip back in," he said.

"Then cut to standing with her on the top of that big air tonight. I’m just the proudest coach. I’m looking forward to the next few years for her." — Allied Media