Triple Olympian Belle Brockhoff has finished fourth in the women's snowboard cross at the Beijing Winter Olympics, paying for a poor start in the big final.
Brockhoff fell behind early in the four-woman medal decider and was unable to make up ground.
American Lindsey Jacobellis won the gold medal ahead of Chloe Trespeuch of France, with Meryeta Odine of Canada taking the bronze.
Brockhoff finished second in her semi-final, quarter-final and 1/8 final heats to reach the medal race.
"All I can say is, 'Oh well' rather than, 'What if'," a tearful Brockhoff told the Seven Network after the medal race.
Fellow Australian Josie Baff was eliminated when she took third in a separate one-eighth final heat.
Brockhoff had an unhappy start to her Winter Olympics campaign on Wednesday, with the Australian off the pace in the first seeding run.
She could only manage 18th and was forced to contest the second seeding run, which determines which heats competitors are placed in for the next round.
There she appeared to find her groove and crossed the line in 1:24.72, putting her through to the one-eighth finals.
Brockhoff and Pyeong Chang silver medallist Jarryd Hughes are the reigning world champions in the mixed team event, which will make its Olympic debut in Beijing.
James, Guseli through to halfpipe final
Scotty James will be chasing Japan gun Ayumu Hirano in the men's halfpipe medal round after the Australian qualified for the Olympic final in second spot.
James's top score came in his second run, when he scored 91.25 and was only bested by two-time silver medallist Hirano, who was rewarded with 93.25 for his second outing on Wednesday.
Australian teen Valentino Guseli rebounded from a disappointing first run, when he failed to exit an early jump cleanly, to qualify in fifth spot, scoring 85.75 with his second effort.
He sits one spot behind three-time Olympic champion American Shaun White, who also blew his first run but nailed his second with an 86.25.
White will retire after Beijing, his fifth Olympics.
James kept it fairly simple with his opening run, with no sign of the snowboarding's most difficult trick, the triple cork, but signed off with two double cork 1260s to score 88.25 to take top spot.
In the second run, the four-time Olympian finished with a frontside 1440 tail-grab and yelled with delight, punching the air.
He said it was the first time he had used the combination in competition.
The Australian — who is looking to improve on his bronze medal four years ago in PyeongChang — said he was happy with how the day played out.
He was unfazed by being in second spot, saying he was targeting top three in qualifying.
"I'm really happy with the result. We stuck to our plan," James said.
"The plan was to put it together on the first run and feel good and then just build on it and work on anything that I felt needed a little bit more perfection and I was able to do that, so I'm super happy."
Earlier, Emily Arthur missed the cut-off to advance to the final of the women's halfpipe competition.
The 22-year-old scored 62.50 to sit in 12th place after the first round, but slipped down the rankings to 14th on her second run, with 12 other athletes advancing to Thursday's finals and medal round.
All eyes were on the top qualifier, defending Olympic champion American Chloe Kim, who opened with a massive score of 87.75 but also fell on her second round.
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By Luke Pentony
Thanks for your company
That's where we leave you tonight, after a solid day from the Australians at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Well done to Belle Brockhoff for her fourth place in the women's snowboard cross, and to Scotty James and Valentino Guseli for making the men's halfpipe final.
Make sure to keep across our coverage with reports and features coming out of the Games in China.
Have a good night!
By Luke Pentony
Good things come to those who wait
Lindsey Jacobellis is celebrating a stunning victory in the women's snowboard cross and rightly so.
She seemed headed for gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin when she held a massive lead in the final.
But a mistake late in the race saw her fall, costing her the gold that was claimed by Switzerland's Tanja Frieden.
Jacobellis recovered to win silver but she could be forgiven if she felt the chance of winning Olympic gold had moved on.
By Luke Pentony
Brockhoff fourth in snowboard cross final
Well done to Australia's Belle Brockhoff after she finished fourth in the big final.
Lindsey Jacobellis of the US claimed the gold medal, with France's Chloe Trespeuch taking silver and Canada's Meryeta O'Dine the bronze medalist.
Brockhoff didn't get the start she wanted and she fell to the back of the field in the early stages of the final.
She didn't lose touch with the three medalists, but they had enough of a start to make sure they finished on the podium.
It is Brockhoff's best finish at an Olympics in her third Games appearance.
Her Games campaign is not over, as she will contest the mixed teams event later in the program.
Brockhoff and Jarryd Hughes won the mixed teams gold at last year's world championships in Sweden.
Jacobellis delivered the US its first medal of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
By Luke Pentony
Tale of the tape
This is the line-up for the big final.
- Meryeta O'Dine (Canada)
- Lindsey Jacobellis (USA)
- Chloe Trespeuch (France)
- Belle Brockhoff (Australia)
By Luke Pentony
Brockhoff reaches gold medal decider
Belle Brockhoff will race for the medals after finishing second in her semifinal.
Brockhoff was second behind Meryeta O'Dine of Canada after an action-packed race that saw France's Julia Pereira de Sousa Mabileau fall when leading.
The Australian is competing in her third Olympics and was considered a medal contender before the Beijing Games after finishing fourth at last year's world championships.
This will be Brockhoff's first appearance in an Olympic big final.
The small final takes place at 6:45pm AEDT, with the big final to follow.
Australia has never won an Olympic medal in women's snowboard cross.
By Luke Pentony
Brockhoff through to semis
Belle Brockhoff has come from the clouds to qualify for the semifinals of the women's snowboard cross.
Brockhoff was fourth for much of the heat but showed impressive patience to work her way back into contention with a storming second half of the race.
She finished second to Tess Critchlow of Canada to move through to the semis.
In a major upset, world champion Charlotte Bankes — representing Great Britain — was eliminated after placing third.
Well done Belle!
By Luke Pentony
Brockhoff through to quarterfinals
Belle Brockhoff keeps her medal chances alive with a second-place finish in her 1/8 final.
Brockhoff competed in the final heat, with Charlotte Bankes of Great Britain taking the honours.
The Australian started well in the three-athlete final, with Bankes setting the pace as the frontrunner.
Brockhoff raced intelligently, making sure she kept ahead of Swiss Sophie Hediger to cross the line in second position.
By Luke Pentony
Baff out of contention
Bad luck to Josie Baff, who took a fall during the top section of her 1/8 final.
She was placed third at the time, but her hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals were dashed.
The 19-year-old got back to her feet and finished the race in third position.
Baff has a lot to be proud about in her Olympic debut, so no doubt she will be better for the experience as her career progresses.
For the record, Canada's Meryeta O'Dine and Alexandra Parshina of the Russian Olympic Committee qualified for the quarterfinals by finishing in the top two placings.
By Luke Pentony
Over to the women's snowboard cross
Following the excitement of the men's halfpipe qualifying round, we now turn our attention back to the women's snowboard cross, with a gold medal up for grabs tonight.
Two Aussies are in contention — Belle Brockhoff and Josie Baff — with the 1/8 finals just getting underway.
There are eight races to determine the quarterfinals match-ups, with Baff in the fifth and Brockhoff in the eighth.
We will keep you across how both Aussies fare.
By Luke Pentony
Scotty James speaks after qualifying
Courtesy of the Seven Network, here are some thoughts from Scotty James after he qualified for the men's halfpipe final.
I feel really good. We stuck to our plan out there and we executed super well. The halfpipe is fantastic. The weather is honestly incredible. I expected it to be pretty cold. We were forecast for a little bit of snow but it didn't happen.
To say the least, it was absolutely fantastic and I'm over the moon and I'm ready.
By Luke Pentony
Two Aussies in halfpipe final
We know you heard us the first time, but we just want to say it again — Australia's Scotty James and Valentino Guseli are through to men's halfpipe final!
James — bronze medalist four years ago — qualified in second place with a best score of 91.25, while teenager Guseli was fifth with 85.75.
They will have their work cut for them in the decider, with Japan's two-time Olympic silver medalist Ayumu Hirano topping qualifying with 93.25.
And lurking in fourth spot is reigning champion Shaun White, who needed a second run of 86.25 to earn his slot in Friday's final.
CANNOT WAIT!
By Luke Pentony
White gets it done
No-one was seriously writing off Shaun White after his first run, so it wasn't surprising the American took care of business in his second.
The three-time Olympic champion moved through to the final with a score of 86.25 to hold down fourth place on the standings, meaning Valentino Guseli is bumped down one spot.
White had been 19th after the first run when he scored 24.25, but you never write off a champion.
By Luke Pentony
Guseli through to the final
It has been confirmed Valentino Guseli has booked his place in Friday's halfpipe final, meaning Australia will have two athletes in the gold medal decider.
Guseli threw down a score of 85.75 in his final effort to shoot up the rankings, but he needed to wait until more athletes had their second runs before it became official.
He will join fellow Aussie Scotty James in the final.
By Luke Pentony
Val steps up
Cometh the hour, cometh Valentino Guseli!
The young Aussie from the NSW south coast has posted a great score of 85.75 in his second run to moved into fourth place on the standings.
He was 16th after his first run, but showed dramatic improvement to roar up the rankings.
What cool nerves the 16-year-old showed to pull out a performance like that with his second run. He may move down the rankings as the final run progresses but he is looking good for a berth in the final.
By Luke Pentony
Scotty James back to second
Scotty James produces his best score of 91.25, but has slipped back to the second place on the standings following his final run.
It wasn't a case that the Aussie did anything wrong in his second run, it's just that Japanese star Ayumu Hirano came out with a score of 93.25 to go top.
Hirano looked fantastic, which isn't surprising as he is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in this event.
But James did appear to keep a few tricks up his sleeve, so Friday's final is going to be a classic. Still a long way to go until we know who are the 12 athletes who will contest the final.
Not long to go until Valentino Guseli has his second run. He was 16th in the first dig with 31.75.
By Luke Pentony
Scotty on Top
Thanks to Dean and Andrew for getting us to this point, hope everyone out there in the blogosphere stay with us for the next few hours.
So now the first runs are done and dusted, here's the tale of the tape.
As Dean mentioned, Scotty James was top of the pops, with fellow Aussie Valentino Guseli 16th with a run of 31.75.
It wasn't the score Shaun White wanted to begin with — he was in 19th place — but the three-time Olympic champion will no doubt step up in his second run.
By Dean Bilton
Shaun White up now
So Scotty James is currently still at the top of the rankings after his opening 88.25. But the greatest this sport has ever seen, American Shaun White, is about to make his first run.
Down he goes! White can't complete one of his moves an ends up flaming out. He scores 24.25 but still has a second run to make sure his Winter Olympics career doesn't end prematurely.
That's basically it for the first runs, Luke Pentony will take you through the second runs and the rest of the evening's action,
By Dean Bilton
Valentino Guseli is up
Not the run he would have hoped for to start with. Nearly lost his balance at one point, which won't help his score.
Yep, a 31.76. Needs a big second run.
By Dean Bilton
Here comes Scotty James
His first run at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics... solid as a rock. Not going to put it all out there in the first qualifying run, but this score should be enough to put him among the early leaders.
It's an 88.25, which puts Scotty James into the lead at this early stage.
