After a full week of self-imposed media silence, Mia Brookes and her snowboard finally emerged into the spotlight, just long enough to clinch qualification for the Big Air final on Sunday evening. However, the journey for Team GB's most highly anticipated teenage athlete was far from straightforward.
A Troubling Start for the Hyped Teenager
A crash landing directly onto her backside during the very first of her three jumps presented a bleak and challenging opening to this 19-year-old's two-pronged medal assault at the Winter Olympics. To fully grasp the significance of this initial stumble, consider two critical points.
Firstly, a competitor needs two scored efforts to have any realistic chance of advancing to Monday's final, meaning Brookes was immediately on the ropes from the outset. This leads directly to the second point: persistent rumours have circulated since her arrival that nerves had become a significant factor, so much so that she has been completely shielded from all interview requests.
A fall on the very first jump? That is certainly no way to soothe any inner turmoil or quieten the doubters.
The Stunning Recovery That Showcased Her Class
Then came the breathtaking response that demonstrated exactly why Mia Brookes is a double World Cup winner in this discipline and a favourite for gold in the upcoming slopestyle event later this week.
On her next jump, Brookes launched herself from the 150-foot high start line, went backwards off the ramp, and executed a flawless series of rotations through 1260 degrees. She nailed the landing perfectly, punched the air in triumph, and her score of 89 points was the second highest of the entire evening.
With the immense pressure now alleviated, she breezed through a simpler third move for a solid 78-point return, securing safe passage into the final. Only Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand and Japan's Kokomo Murase qualified with a better overall total score.
The Mental Arsenal: Heavy Metal and Blocking Out the Noise
'The build-up to this was definitely quite big in the back of my mind but when I got here it was really chill,' Brookes revealed afterwards, before sharing a key weapon in her mental preparation arsenal: heavy-metal music blasting through her headphones.
'I just try to block out all the noise that's going on around me. Metallica. Megadeth. Pantera. A bit of Judas Priest as well. Super chill stuff,' she said with a smile. If it works, it works – and on this evidence, her unique method is proving highly effective on the world's biggest stage.
