Free Ski Slopestyle – Daisy takes on new challenge, finishes top 5

Daisy Thomas and Lucinda Laird gave it their best for Australia in the women’s free ski slopestyle Welli Hilli Park Ski Resort, finishing 5th and 16th respectively.

Daisy is no stranger to a final, but upon advancing from qualifying as a top-10 athlete she was preparing to go into a finals format she’d never previously experienced, the three-run format where only your best score counts.

“This was my first three-run finals competition,” Daisy said. “I didn't let the nerves get to my head which I think really helped to ski the way I wanted to ski.

“I haven't in the slopestyle been able to do two nines together, so it's my first time doing it which I'm quite happy with.

“The steepness of the course made it a lot more icy, which is difficult slipping between a lot of the features, but I'm used to skiing in slippery conditions with a racing background.”

Her best score in the final came on the skier from Perisher Winter Sports Club’s second run (67.25), 1.25 points away from Siyu Xiao (CHN) in fourth place. Lucinda meanwhile, who has risen through the ranks after starting women’s free ski slopestyle six months ago, received a top score of 33.00 in qualifying from the judges.

Daisy and Lucinda can look forward to the women’s free ski big air on Saturday with more familiarity of the course.

“I'm far more comfortable with that bottom jump now which we're using for big air and I’m hopeful of doing more tricks I've been working on in training,” Daisy said.

Snowboard Slopestyle – 14-year-old Ally Hickman 8th in final

The youngest competitor in the women’s snowboard slopestyle field, Ally Hickman finished 8th in the final and Halle McRae 18th.

Ally put a crash in training and on her first run in the final behind her, performing best on her third jump in the final for 61.00 points and reflected fondly on the experience.

"It went really well, it's a really fun course. I crashed on my first run (in the final) and tried to redeem it with a couple more runs,” she said.

"I kind of just cleared my mind and refocused on what I was going to do next.

“All these girls I know from previous competitions, it's been a really fun comp.”

Halle McRae was marked down on the execution of her two runs in qualifying for touching on landing, posting a best score of 21.50 on her second run.

Ski Cross – Duncan and Dakota sign off 14th in mixed team event

Duncan Cowan and Dakota Turner had their work cut out for them in the mixed team event, drawing a quarter-final against winter sport heavyweights the USA, Canada and Switzerland.

The pair finished fourth in their heat, which saw them knocked out of the competition and finishing 14th overall to end their Games campaign.

Biathlon – 17th for Australia in Youth Olympic finale

The Australian mixed relay team placed 17th in the 22-nation field at the Alpensia Biathlon Centre.

The team - comprising Alessandra Sydun-West, Bridget Harvey, Phoenix Sparke and Edward Woodhouse-Bedak – was into their third leg when the front-running Italian team lapped the Aussies for the second time to end their relay.

Alpine Skiing – Arkie’s Youth Olympic debut cut short

Max Kelly represented Australia in the men’s giant slalom at the Jeongseon High 1 Ski Resort, with an unfortunate error halfway down the course resulting in sliding out on a gate for no result.

The 17-year-old from Mount Buller Race Club is set for one last event tomorrow in the men’s slalom, with Arkie Lennon contesting the women’s slalom for the green and gold.

Day 6 Schedule