Mia Brookes went down fighting as she narrowly missed out on Great Britain's first medal of the Milan and Cortina Winter Olympics in the women's snowboard Big Air at Livigno Snow Park.

Starting her last of three runs in third place, Brookes went for broke and came agonisingly close to becoming the first female athlete to land a backside 1620 in competition.

But Brookes slightly over-rotated and was penalised for her landing, meaning she slipped a position behind winner Kokomo Murase of Japan, New Zealander Zio Sadowski Synnott and Seungeun Yu of South Korea.

It marked another near-miss on a day that had promised so much for Team GB, with Kirsty Muir earlier also taking fourth place in the women's ski slopestyle final.

Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat were the favourites to win the gold medal in the mixed doubles curling but a poor performance in the semi-final against Sweden means they risk going medalless in the event.

“Obviously, it’s not the result we were after,” Dodds said on Monday after the loss

“I think we’re both just disappointed we didn’t play like we have all week.

“In an Olympic semi-final you can’t do that and the Swedes capitalised on our mistakes. We were punished for it tonight.”

The duo are back in action this afternoon and face Italy in the bronze medal match.

Few sports put you through the wringer quite like curling and, after this semi-final defeat, it will take some time for Bruce Mouat and Jen Dodds to straighten out.

The Scottish pair won eight of nine in the round robin, secured the top seed for the semi-finals and were favourites for the gold medal.

But the velvety touch that carried them this far deserted them at the worst possible moment and they collapsed to a 9–3 defeat to Sweden. Sport, eh.

Lindsey Vonn’s crash called into question the decision to let her compete knowing she was injured before her run.

International Ski Federation President Johan Eliasch said the competitor had to make up their own mind when carrying pre-existing injuries.

"I firmly believe that this has to be decided by the individual ... And in her case, she certainly knows her injuries a lot better than anybody else," he told reporters on Monday.

"And what is also important for people to understand that the accident that she had yesterday, she was incredibly unlucky. It was a one in a thousand.

“She got too close to the gate, and she got stuck when she was in the air in the gate and started rotating."

The helmet, which depicts several athletes who died in the conflict – some of whom were personal friends of Heraskevych – is now expected to be shelved.

A source close to the matter confirmed on Monday that a joint team of local orthopaedic and plastic surgeons performed the procedures.

These operations were crucial for stabilising her and preventing complications related to swelling and blood flow.

While Vonn's personal doctor was reportedly present and assisted, Italian surgeons led the medical interventions.

Still no joy as of yet for Team GB but with a bronze medal chance in the curling this afternoon their medal tally could begin today.

Here’s a look at the current medal table for the Winter Olympics:

“She’s 41 years old and this is the end of her career,” Alan Kildow told The Associated Press. “There will be no more ski races for Lindsey Vonn, as long as I have anything to say about it.”

But Italian ski great Alberto Tomba insists her downfall on the slopes came after a move to race at Crans-Montana last month.

The American has been criticised over her desire to win one more race, with Tomba insisting it led to a chain of risks that eventually caught up with her in the form of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on her left knee.

Perhaps unsurprisingly – given the nature of the sport she competes in – the latest injury suffered by Lindsey Vonn is added to a long list of problems she’s encountered during a decorated skiing career.

To give you an idea of what it takes to be the best in a sport like this: