Aussie ski phenom misses out on last-day Olympic dream

The teen prodigy, who's soared from nowhere to top the World Cup standings this season, had been hoping to provide a glorious flourish to Australia's most successful winter Games by landing medal number seven on Sunday.

But as winter sport's biggest superstar Eileen Gu laid down two dazzling runs to take her third career Olympic gold, Brown certainly didn't let herself down with a nerveless and daring last-round run of 87.00 that thrust her from 10th place to fifth.

"Just really proud of how I was able to improve each run and put it down there when it counted. Really proud of myself," the delighted youngster told Channel Nine afterwards.

It was such an impressive effort that even Gu, now the most decorated freeskier in the short history of the sport with three golds, came across to hug the Aussie and tell her, "You did so well".

After bailing out of her first run when failing to land her first trick cleanly, US-born Chinese ace Gu responded by delivering the best two runs of the competition in the subsequent rounds, 94.00 and 94.75.

China's Li Fanghui came close to matching Gu with a spectacular final run of 93.00 to take the silver, while Britain's Zoe Atkin also had a last-round crack with a 92.50 run to land bronze.

Brown, who hadn't even seen a halfpipe this time four years ago, had been far from her best with her opening two runs of 55.50 and 65.00 in the 11-athlete final as she was watched by her family at the Livigno Snow Park.

She couldn't match the huge heights her more experienced rivals could generate as they soared off the edge of the pipe.

Yet when the pressure was on, she still raised her game on the last run, being one of just two competitors in the final to deliver a 1080 jump with three full revolutions, that helped her finish just 5.50 points off the medal positions.

"I'm really stoked to be able to put the 1080 down, that was the best run I've ever landed in competition. I'm just really proud and stoked," said Brown.

Beaming after Gu had jokingly genuflcted towards her afterwards, she added: "It was a really special moment to have someone I idolise give me a hug after I land my third run at the Olympics."

Australian Associated Press