Kirsty Muir endured yet more Olympic heartache on Monday evening, finishing fourth in the freestyle skiing Big Air final at Livigno Snow Park.
The 21-year-old from Aberdeen came agonisingly close to the podium for the second time in seven days, ending 3.5 points adrift of Italian bronze medallist Flora Tabanelli.
Muir’s medal hopes evaporated when she crashed attempting her third and final run, a double 1440 with a tailgrab that she had never successfully completed before.
Her combined score of 174.75 points from her two best attempts proved insufficient against a field producing exceptional performances throughout the evening.
Team GB star Kirsty Muir needed to go big on her final run but she could not stick the landing
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The result marks Team GB’s fifth fourth-place finish at these Winter Games, adding to the frustration of her slopestyle near-miss last Monday when just 0.41 points separated her from bronze.
Speaking after the final, Muir reflected on her performance with characteristic grace despite the disappointment.
“I enjoyed it quite a lot,” she said.
“I’m really proud of myself for putting the two tricks down that I did and also going for it in that third four because I’ve never landed that trick before but I just had to go for it. I crashed but I’m still proud of myself.”
The Scottish skier explained her decision to attempt the ambitious final jump.
“When the scores came in for the other girls I knew I had to give it something really, really good to get on that podium so I’m stoked that I did try that,” she added.
Kirsty Muir went for a double 1440 with a tailgrab, a trick she had never completed before, but she was proud of her efforts
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Muir also paid tribute to gold medallist Megan Oldham, describing her competitors as “my besties” and praising the Canadian’s performance as “unbelievable”.
Muir’s second run proved the highlight of her evening, delivering a stunning double cork 1620 that earned 93.00 points – the third highest score of the entire competition.
That effort propelled her from seventh position after a conservative opening attempt into provisional second place, trailing only the dominant Oldham.
Her first run, a double 1080 with a mute grab worth 81.75 points, had left considerable ground to make up in what was proving an exceptionally high-quality final.
However, the standings shifted dramatically in the closing stages as China’s Eileen Gu registered 89.00 on her final attempt to claim silver.
World champion Tabanelli then produced the night’s biggest score of 94.25, sending the home crowd into raptures and forcing Muir into an impossible position requiring a flawless final jump.
The final itself faced significant disruption, with organisers forced to delay proceedings by more than 75 minutes as a blizzard swept through the Alpine resort.
“I gave it my all and I’m taking that with me” ❤️
Kirsty Muir’s reaction to narrowly missing out on a medal in the Women’s Freeski Big Air 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/VBtpkC27kr
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) February 16, 2026
Ground staff worked frantically to clear the course using shovels and leaf blowers, though snow continued falling heavily when competition eventually resumed.
Further drama unfolded shortly before the start when two-time slopestyle champion Mathilde Gremaud withdrew following a training crash that left her with a hip injury, removing one of the pre-event favourites from contention.
Kirsty Muir became emotional when speaking about her family, who cheered her on from the sidelines
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Canada’s Oldham ultimately claimed gold with a commanding total of 180.75 points, extending her unbeaten run in Big Air since the Beijing Olympics.
Gu, competing in this event for the first time since winning the 2022 Olympic title, settled for silver on 179.00 points.