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Freeskiers Sylvia Trotter and Ruby Andrews put together a fierce effort in the qualification rounds of the Big Air but missed out on spots in the final, finishing 21st and 24th , respectively.
18-year-old Trotter 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 would put her in sixth place at the end of the first run.
Having struggled to nail down her runs in training, Trotter described this as “one of the best feelings in the world”. With the combined score of two jumps, spun in two different directions determining the final placings, she would need to back up with a well-executed second jump to really make it count.
Trotter couldn't quite hold on to the landing of her switch left 900 on her second run and would be looking to jump three to put it to her feet and break into the top 12. Going for the same trick on her third and final attempt, she landed clean, but the judges docked points for not holding on to her grab. Her trick score of 38 would not be enough to bump her up the scoreboard.
Trotter described her first Olympic Winter Games experience as “monumental” and “so special”, saying this has only “made me 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.
Coming back from a dislocated hip only three months ago, Andrews said she’d 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. 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.”