Mia Brooks had no regrets about attempting the historic trick that cost her an Olympic medal after finishing fourth in the women’s snowboard slopestyle final at Livigno Snowpark.
Starting the final run in third place, Brooks attempted a backside 1620 trick, something he had never attempted on snow before, in a final bid to climb to the top of the podium.
Despite completing the required four-and-a-half rotations, Brooks received a penalty for landing awkwardly and lost ground, finishing fourth behind gold medalist Kokomo Murase of Japan.
Brooks narrowly missed out on her first Team GB medal at the Winter Olympics.
The 19-year-old said: “I could have shot 14 and come in third, but I could have shot 16 and landed and won.
“This is a really special trick and for women’s snowboarding, it would have been crazy if I had landed it.
“I didn’t mean to do it, I didn’t want to do it at all. But I guess sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and get it done. I’m really glad I did it and I’m not lying in a hospital bed.”
Brooks had the chance to become Team GB’s youngest Winter Olympic medalist in 78 years.
Brooks, who professes to be a heavy metal fan and plays music loudly while running, joked, “I thought I got it, but I pushed too hard. I was listening to music too loud!”
Murase, the only female snowboarder to land a backside 16 in the competition, won the gold medal by a narrow margin over Zoe Sadowski-Synnott, with South Korea’s Seung-Eun Yoo holding on for third place.
With the best two of three cumulative scores counted, Brooks earned an 80.75 on his first jump, which was slightly better than his relatively modest second jump, but still pushed him up the rankings.
In the end, her total score of 159.50 points was far lower than Yuu’s 171.0 points, who won the bronze medal, and it was a disappointing result on a day that had given Team GB so much hope.
Team GB was unable to fulfill their “Magic Monday” as the wait for medals continued.
Brooks’ British teammate Kirsty Muir missed out on a medal in ski slopestyle on Monday by less than half a point, and the curling mixed doubles team lost to Sweden in the semi-finals.
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“I have pretty mixed feelings at the moment,” said Muir, who has a freestyle big air competition coming up next week. “I’m not mad at myself or disappointed, but fourth place is just a tough position.
“The first two runs were difficult and after the second I was a little frustrated with myself. I’m really happy that I managed to pick myself up and move down the order. Of course I wanted to be on the podium, but I’ll try to stay positive.”
Muir narrowly missed out on bronze for Team GB in the women’s slopestyle final
Brooks also vowed to make another big buck next Monday when he competes in his favorite slopestyle competition for the chance to become Britain’s youngest Winter Olympic medalist in 78 years.
She won a world title in 2023 at just 16 years old, and won gold at the prestigious X Games in Aspen last month, so she will likely start as the favorite in her second competition.
“Right now I’m all about slopestyle. I’ll probably go with a 16-inch slope, but we’ll see how it goes,” Brooks added. “Everyone will be as excited about me taking on No. 16 as if I won a medal.”
