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While some hoped for a triumphant “Magic Monday” for British athletes, the reality on the slopes of Livigno and the ice of Cortina was less forgiving. Despite high expectations, the day ended without any medals for competitors like Kirsty Muir, Mia Brookes, and the curling duo Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds.
The absence of gold, silver, or bronze medals paints a picture of a challenging day for these athletes, each leaving with varying degrees of disappointment. The anticipation was high, yet the results fell short of the lofty goals set by the team.
Focusing on the final opportunity for a medal, Mia Brookes took center stage at the Livigno Snow Park. Under the bright floodlights, she competed in the Big Air snowboarding final, showcasing her skills and determination.
In a bold attempt to secure a podium finish, Brookes aimed for a backside 1620, a daring move involving four and a half rotations that had never been executed at the Games. Unfortunately, she slightly over-rotated, leaving her just short of a medal and placing her in the frustrating fourth position.
Her disappointment was palpable as she struck her helmet in frustration, realizing how close she had come to success. Despite the setback, Brookes’ fearless approach and her choice of motivational music, including Metallica and Pantera, highlight the unique spirit of these athletes striving for greatness.
Mia Brookes was unable to pull off her final jump as she narrowly missed out on a medal
The 19-year-old had sailed through her first two jumps but didn’t have the scores necessary to disrupt her three strongest riders
‘I gave it everything out there and performed a trick that I’ve never done before on snow,’ said Brookes. ‘I pushed myself way more than I’ve done in competition before. I tried it and I’m not lying in a hospital bed. Joking aside, it’s a pretty gnarly move.
‘I didn’t want to do it at all but sometimes you just have to and grit your teeth.’
For her proximity to being a pioneer, Brookes was therefore rather upbeat. Snowboarding seems to work that way.
But there was a more dour feeling for the wider British ensemble, captured by the crestfallen look on the face of their chef de mission, Eve Muirhead, when it was time for the snowboarding medal ceremony.
With brutal timing, the medals were carried directly in front of her soon after Brookes’ last run and on their way to Japan’s Kokomo Murase, who won gold, ahead of Zoi Sadowski-Synnott of New Zealand and Korea’s Yu Seungeun. Muirhead bowed her head as they passed.
Brookes will go again next week in the slopestyle, her stronger suit, but for the British team that medal target of at least four and as many as eight is suddenly looking a little tougher.
Which takes us to Muir, a freestyle skier, who finished in that same mental limbo of fourth place on her sport’s version of the slopestyle assault course.
Her margin to bronze was agonisingly small – just 0.41 points – but Muir’s tears in the aftermath traced in part to the knowledge that his was an opportunity she failed to take.
Kirsty Muir cut a desolate figure after she also missed out on a medal by the finest of margins
Mixed curlers Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds underwhelmed after storming the round robin stage
For context, her best of three runs scored 76.05 points and that was significantly beneath the 93.66 with which she won the X Games title just last month. ‘I’ll be proud of myself in a minute,’ the 21-year-old said. ‘But I’m in a bit of a hole right now.’
Swiss star Mathilde Gremaud retained her Olympic title, with China’s Eileen Gu taking silver and bronze going to Canada’s Megan Oldham.
If Brookes and Muir can point to near misses, then what to make of the mixed curlers, Mouat and Dodds?
They will play for bronze against defending champions Italy on Tuesday, so redemption is possible, but they made an almighty hash of their semi-final encounter with Sweden’s sibling duo of Rasmus and Isabella Wrana. The score was tied at 3-3 when they coughed up a full five stones during the power play in the sixth end.
The 9-3 defeat that followed was hugely underwhelming in light of a round-robin stage in which Dodds and Mouat were utterly dominant, winning eight of their nine matches, including a 7-4 victory over the Swedes.
Dodds said: ‘In an Olympic semi-final, you can’t do that and the Swedes capitalised on our mistakes. We got punished for it tonight.’
No magic there. Quite the opposite.Â