Danielle Scott Wins Olympic Silver After 12-Year Dream

Danielle Scott spent 12 years chasing an Olympic medal, and at 35 years old, she finally caught it.

The Australian aerial skier clinched silver at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Wednesday, delivering the performance of her life when it mattered most. After three previous Olympic appearances without a medal, Scott scored a career-high 117.19 in the first final round at Livigno Snow Park.

Just one month earlier, Scott was in such a dark place she told her family and friends to cancel their Olympic trips. After placing 19th and 20th at two World Cup events in January, she felt the weight of expectation crushing her dreams.

"I told all my family and friends that they couldn't come to the Olympics," Scott said. "They'd booked their tickets and it was really heartbreaking to say that because I just was feeling the pressure."

Only her husband Clark made the trip to Italy to watch her compete. That meant her biggest supporters watched from home as she achieved what she'd worked toward for over a decade.

Scott attempted a triple-twisting triple for the first time in competition in three years. Five of the six Super finalists were doing the same difficult trick, so she had no choice but to match them.

In the medal round, she brushed her hands on landing and scored 102.17, just behind China's defending champion Xu Mengtao, who scored 112.90 for gold. The two 35-year-olds have been longtime friends and rivals on the circuit.

"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 okay. This means everything to me and I'm so proud."

Why This Inspires

Scott's silver medal came exactly 24 years after Alisa Camplin became Australia's first female Winter Olympics gold medallist in the same event. Camplin, now team chef de mission, was there in Italy to embrace Scott after her win.

"It's been 12 years of coming in with the Olympic dream and now finally she does the most beautiful jumps of her life," Camplin said. "I couldn't have been more happy for her."

The victory was especially sweet after Australia's top medal hope, two-time world champion Laura Peel, missed the event due to a ruptured ACL in pre-Games training. Scott stepped up when her country needed her most.

"I thought I was prepared for these moments but the last two Olympics I walked away heartbroken," Scott said. "I just told myself I wasn't prepared to walk away heartbroken again."

Scott's silver brings Australia's medal count at these Games to six, a record haul including three gold, two silver, and one bronze.

Sometimes the greatest victories come when we're ready to give up, and sometimes 12 years of perseverance leads to the best day of your life.