In a dramatic turn of events last month, Australian freestyle skier Danielle Scott instructed her family and friends to cancel their plans to watch her compete in Milano-Cortina, citing deep concerns over her form. This decision meant that, aside from her husband Clark, none of her loved ones were present in Livigno to witness the four-time Olympian achieve a lifelong dream as she finally secured a medal.
An Emotional Victory After Years of Frustration
An emotional Scott, aged 35, described winning the silver medal as the 'best day of my life'. This reward came after she had previously struggled to translate her impressive World Cup and world championship performances to the Olympic stage, with her best result being a ninth-place finish.
'To finally have this around my neck, I mean, it's taken four Olympics and it's been an incredible ride of frustration, a lot of highs, a lot of lows, but today, I just put my heart out there,' she said. 'I left everything out there. I jumped the way I wanted to, so this just means everything.'
She added, 'I thought I was prepared for these moments but the last two Olympics I walked away heartbroken and I just told myself I wasn't prepared to walk away heartbroken again.'
Overcoming Pressure and Self-Doubt
After competing in two World Cup events in Canada in early January and placing 19th and 20th, Scott revealed she was in a 'really difficult place'. This led her to ban her biggest fans from attending the Games.
'I told all my family and friends that they couldn't come to the Olympics, they'd booked their tickets and it was really heartbreaking to say that because I just was feeling the pressure and I just needed to focus on myself,' Scott explained. 'I was just so frustrated and not jumping the way I needed to...so this is for them and I'm grateful they believed in me.'
Stepping Up in a High-Stakes Competition
With Australia's top medal hope, two-time world champion Laura Peel, missing the event due to an ACL injury from a pre-Games training fall, Scott stepped up impressively at the Livigno Snow Park. She delivered the best performance of the day in the first final, scoring a career-high 117.19 points, which even surpassed the eventual winning score of gold medallist Xu Mengtao.
These Games marked the first time in three years that Scott attempted a triple-twisting triple in competition. With five of the six super finalists executing the same trick, she had no choice but to go for it. In the high-pressure medal round, the Australian couldn't quite replicate her peak performance, brushing her hands on the landing to score 102.17 points, while defending champion Xu nailed her effort for 112.90 points.
A Historic Moment and Team Celebration
Three Chinese skiers occupied the top four positions alongside Scott, who has been long-time friends and rivals with Xu, also 35. Reflecting on her performance, Scott said, 'I am frustrated that I didn't keep my hands from picking up that loose change and maybe could have meant that I got the gold, but that's OK - this means everything to me and I'm so proud.'
Her medal was awarded exactly 24 years to the day after Alisa Camplin became Australia's first Winter Olympics female gold medallist at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Camplin, who was watching as the team Chef de Mission in Italy, embraced Scott in celebration.
'It's been 12 years of coming in with the Olympic dream and now finally she does the most beautiful jumps of her life so I couldn't have been more happy for her,' said Camplin. Scott's silver brought Australia's record medal haul to six, comprising three gold, two silver, and one bronze.
Camplin added, 'That's the beauty of sport, isn't it? It just comes down to the moment and she's worked really hard for this mentally and emotionally. That was a next-level female aerial final, one of the greatest competitions of all time and for her to win silver was outstanding.'
Other Australian competitors included Abbey Willcox, who made the top-12 first final before bowing out, while Airleigh Frigo and rookie Sydney Stephens did not qualify for the finals.
