Kirsty Muir Bounces Back with Strong Big Air Qualifying Performance
Just five days after the tears of disappointment, Kirsty Muir soared high over Livigno, marking the first step in her redemption mission at the Winter Olympics. By qualifying fourth for Monday's Big Air final, the Scottish skier has demonstrated that the heartbreak from her slopestyle near-miss has sufficiently subsided.
Overcoming Slopestyle Setback
There were significant questions about Muir's readiness for this second opportunity at an Olympic medal, given how devastated she appeared after missing a bronze by the narrowest of margins last Monday. The 21-year-old from Scotland, who secured an X Games silver medal in Big Air just last month, has evidently returned in competitive form for what is widely considered her stronger discipline.
Her best two scores of 87.5 and 79 were surpassed only by the aggregates of Canada's Megan Oldham, defending champion Eileen Gu of China, and Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud, who claimed slopestyle gold. Remarkably, this competition marked the first time Gu has contested the Big Air event since her gold medal triumph at Beijing 2022.
Focus on the Future
Regarding Muir, who has attracted additional attention here due to her relationship with former Traitors contender Matt Harris, the performance was overwhelmingly positive. If there was any cautionary note, it stemmed from her qualifying third for the slopestyle before falling short of her best under the intense pressure of the final round.
'I am just forgetting about it [slopestyle], it's in the past now and I am onto this event,' Muir stated. 'I had a really good evening of skiing, felt great in practice, stoked to put my runs down in qualies and I am excited for the finals.'
Team GB's Medal Hopes
Scottish skier Kirsty Muir, aged 21, has advanced to the Big Air final after qualifying in fourth position. She will be hoping to add to Team GB's modest medal tally of just one goal achieved so far in these Games.
'I took a day after slopestyle,' Muir explained. 'I had a nice day that I could process it before I started Big Air training. Pretty quickly we started but I had a day to go through it in my head.'
'There has been a lot of love (in the past five days). Although it was a fourth and I wanted more, it is still fourth in the world on the Olympic stage. I had a lot of love and a lot of support so I am very thankful for that.'
Broader Team GB Context
The hierarchy of Team GB's snow sports division will be anxiously monitoring Muir's progress on Monday, following a disappointing first week of the Games in which none of their three primary medal contenders have delivered a podium finish.
Earlier in the competition, Team GB's Tabitha Stoecker fell short in her efforts to secure a medal in the women's skeleton event. Having finished no lower than second in the six training runs, the 25-year-old ultimately placed fifth after the four heats of the final. Her teammates Freya Tarbit and Amelia Coltman finished seventh and ninth respectively, with Austria's Janine Flock claiming the gold medal.
'I am proud of myself,' Stoecker reflected. 'The last was my best run. I wish I'd done four of those and maybe I'd be standing over there (on the podium) as well.'
