Brothers Nico and Miguel Porteous have qualified for the Winter Olympics freeski halfpipe final, although their efforts were overshadowed by a horrific fall by teammate Ben Harrington.
Harrington suffered a horrific crash in his second run, losing control mid air and coming down hard headfirst onto the lip of the pipe.
The crowd were silent as medical staff rushed into the pipe to tend to the motionless Harrington. However, viewers were able to breathe a sigh of relief as Harrington got to his feet and was able to leave the course under his own strength.
Miguel described the crash as "one of the gnarliest" he'd ever seen in the halfpipe.
"For it to be one of our teammates… your heart just sinks when you see that.
"He's okay so that's the best possible outcome, but I'm bummed for him nevertheless."
Harrington said his body was fine, but he was disappointed he hadn't been able to qualify for the final, finishing in 13th place thanks to a score of 69.25 on his first run. The top 12 go through to the final.
"I really wanted to be in the finals. My last run was going great, I just fell at the end, but I’m happy I’m healthy," Harrington said.
Nico Porteous qualified with the second best score of 90.50, calmly putting down a strong run that puts him one step closer to another Olympic podium.
Miguel landed a strong first run, earning him a score of 81.00. It was good enough for ninth place and a spot in Saturday's final.
New Zealand’s youngest athlete in Beijing, Gustav Legnavsky, wasn't quite able to put down a clean run and finished in 19th place.
Meanwhile, in the women's halfpipe, Kiwi freeskiers Anja Barugh and Chloe McMillan both missed out on the final earlier on Thursday afternoon.
While both put down a clean run, they struggled to find amplitude, which the judges penalised them for.
McMillan finished in 18th while Barugh finished in 19th.
The top qualifier was Chinese sensation Eileen Gu, who is searching for her third medal at the Beijing Games.
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