Kiwi freeskier Margaux Hackett has not managed to qualify for the final of the women's big air competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, but was pleased to land a clean run after nearly having to pull out of the competition due to an injury suffered in training.
The 22-year-old fell on both her first and second runs, essentially ruling her out of the competition that is scored by a combination of the best two scores from three runs.
On her first attempt, Hackett attempted a misty 900 but landed heavy on the front of her skis, her left ski popping off and causing her to fall.
It meant the pressure was on going into her second run, with the 22-year-old needing to put down a clean jump in order to remain in contention to qualify for the final.
However, she was unable to pull herself around and finish her rotation before landing, causing her to fall once again.
The two falls gave her scores of just 9.75 and 9.00 out of 100.
Despite the disappointment, Hackett managed to land a clean switch right side 900 on her third and final run, scoring a 65.00. She finished 22nd out of 26 skiers.
It was a solid result for Hackett, who said afterwards she was touch-and-go to actually compete in the competition after suffering an injury in training.
"It's been a struggle these last few days, I crashed in training the other day. I wasn't able to do much training and I wasn't actually sure I was going to be able to be here and start," Hackett told Sky.
Hackett will be back in action on February 13 in slopestyle qualifying.
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