It was the last jump of the night and as it turned out the last jump of her career.
Lydia Lassila’s storied, almost two-decade career came to a close when she failed to qualify for the finals of the freestyle aerials at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.
She overbalanced on the landing of her first jump, missing the top six and automatic qualification.
Down and out: Lydia Lassila called time on her 20-year career but it wasn’t the fairytale ending she had hoped for
The 36-year-old former Olympic champion told reporters she was gutted to go out in that way
At her next attempt she also couldn’t control her landing, missing the 12-woman final to finish 20th overall.
‘That windsock is dead now. It wasn’t when I went. There was a tail wind,’ Lassila told reporters.
‘You can’t control a lot of things and tonight, I couldn’t control the wind and my speed was too hot on both of jumps. I couldn’t save them. It’s brutal.
‘It’s a disappointment, obviously. It’s like dealing with loss. You’ve lost an opportunity. You feel pretty down.’
Danielle Scott was the only Australian to move directly through to Friday’s finals in fifth but Laura Peel joined her later by finishing the repechage round in third.
She failed to land both of her attempts in the qualifying rounds bowing out without making the final
Lassila became just the second Australian woman to get to five Winter Olympics and the first to compete in five
Sam Wells also dipped out, finishing 23rd overall.
Lassila became just the second Australian woman to get to five Winter Olympics and the first to actually compete in all five after former aerial skier Jacqui Cooper was injured in training ahead of the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
The highlight of Lassila’s remarkable career came when she captured a gold medal at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010.
That success came four years after she tore her ACL while looking on track for success in the finals of competition in Turin.
At Sochi 2014 she focused on improving her sport after it had stagnated when many competitors were trying simpler jumps due to changes in competition qualifying rules.
Lassila broke several Australian records during a glittering career which included gold in Vancouver in 2010
She became the first woman to attempt a quad-twisting triple somersault in competition – and did it in the final of the Sochi event.
While not landing it, she still managed to finish third.
Initially unsure whether to continue in the sport, the mother of two decided to have a last tilt in PyeongChang at the age of 36.
She said balancing family life with training made the 2018 campaign one of her proudest.
‘You’ve got to reflect on the good things. I’ve had the moments that I’ve had. My kids, my family, my friends. Life’s good,’ she said.
‘Sochi was an incredible highlight for me. It was bittersweet, in a sense. It was a moment where like I feel like I shifted things in sport. I’m really proud of that.
‘Five Olympics, I’d never thought I’d go to five. It was never a goal.
‘But I’m here because I love this. I’ll miss it’