Australian Skier Danielle Scott Claims Silver Medal After Emotional Olympic Journey
Australian freestyle skier Danielle Scott achieved a lifelong dream by winning a silver medal in the aerials event at the Winter Olympics, but her victory came after a deeply personal and emotional decision to keep her loved ones away from the competition.
Family and Friends Told to Stay Home
Last month, the 35-year-old aerials veteran instructed her family and friends to cancel their plans to watch her compete at the Olympics because she was feeling so low about her form. This meant that aside from her husband Clark, none of Scott's loved ones were present in Livigno to witness her historic achievement on Wednesday.
"I told all my family and friends that they couldn't come to the Olympics," Scott revealed. "They'd booked their tickets and it was really heartbreaking to say that because I just was feeling the pressure and I needed to focus on myself."
Breaking Through Olympic Frustration
Scott described winning silver as the "best day of my life," a reward that came after years of frustration at previous Olympic Games. Despite impressive performances at World Cup events and world championships, she had been unable to translate that success to the Olympic stage, with her best previous result being ninth place.
"To finally have this around my neck, I mean, it's taken four Olympics and it's been an incredible ride of frustration," Scott said. "A lot of highs, a lot of lows, but today, I just put my heart out there. I left everything out there."
The emotional skier added that after two previous Olympics where she walked away heartbroken, she told herself she wasn't prepared to experience that disappointment again.
Overcoming Early Season Struggles
Scott's decision to ban her supporters came after competing at two World Cup events in Canada in early January, where she placed 19th and 20th. She described being in a "really difficult place" at that time and struggling with her form.
"I was just so frustrated and not jumping the way I needed to," Scott admitted. "So this is for them and I'm grateful they believed in me."
Stepping Up in Style
With Australia's top medal hope, two-time world champion Laura Peel, missing the event after rupturing her ACL in 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 was actually superior to the eventual winning score of gold medallist Xu Mengtao. This marked the first time in three years that Scott had attempted a triple-twisting triple in competition.
High-Pressure Final Round
In the high-pressure medal round, Scott couldn't quite replicate her earlier performance, brushing her hands on her landing to score 102.17 points. Defending champion Xu Mengtao nailed her effort for a score of 112.90 to claim gold.
Three Chinese skiers filled the top four positions alongside Scott, who has been long-time friends and rivals with Xu, also 35 years old.
"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," Scott said. "But that's OK - this means everything to me and I'm so proud."
Historic Connection
Scott's medal came exactly 24 years to the day after Alisa Camplin became Australia's first Winter Olympics female gold medallist, winning the same event at the Salt Lake City Olympics. Camplin, who was watching as 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," said Camplin. "I couldn't have been more happy for her."
Camplin added that Scott's performance represented "one of the greatest competitions of all time" in women's aerials, praising her mental and emotional preparation.
Australian Team Performance
Scott's silver medal brought Australia's record Winter Olympics medal haul to six, consisting of three gold, two silver and one bronze. Other Australian competitors in the aerials event included Abbey Willcox, who made the top-12 first final before bowing out, while Airleigh Frigo and rookie Sydney Stephens didn't make the cut.
The victory represents a remarkable turnaround for Scott, who went from telling her supporters to stay home to standing on the Olympic podium, finally achieving the success that had eluded her through four Olympic campaigns.
