Matty Cox's family thought he had pulled it off.
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After a tough opening to his Winter Olympics campaign, the Stanwell Park snowboarder looked to have nailed his second run of the men's slopestyle qualification round.
That was until he took flight for the final jump of the run.
As Cox flew through the air, twisting and rotating, his family and friends, who had gathered to watch him compete, collectively held their breath.
Unfortunately Cox hit the deck, his chances of competing in Monday's slopestyle final coming to an end.
Had the 23-year-old landed the final jump, his score likely would have been good enough to progress through to the medal round.
Instead Cox received 39.98, finishing 26th in his Winter Olympics debut.
While disappointed, Matty's father Steve said it was a performance his son should be proud of.
"He is still an Olympian," Mr Cox told the Mercury. "He just missed the jump and it was not his day. I am super proud of him."
"Matt rang up after he competed and he was a little disappointed. There are always winners and losers; that is how sport goes.
"Matt told me he looked down when he should have looked up on the final jump which made him fall down. It was split second."
Cox has been snowboarding since his father took him to the snow as a family bonding exercise when he was two-years-old.
From there, the athlete fell in love with the sport and he started competing as a six-year-old.
It's been a lengthy journey to make it to China, Cox travelling and competing around the world in order to pursue his Olympic dream.
Throughout that period, the Illawarra talent has spent a significant amount of time on his own, without a support team around him.
This, for Steve, makes his son's achievement even more impressive.
"He does it all off his own bat," he said.
Cox's Olympics are not over, the Stanwell Park talent to contest the big air competition next Monday.
Whereas slopestyle requires athletes to complete a series of tricks in a single run, big air is all about throwing down the biggest and best move in your repertoire.
While some athletes would allow the pressure of competing at the Olympics to get the better of them, Cox has been calm throughout the past week.
Steve said his son was taking the pressure "all in his stride" after they spoke recently.
He said Matty saw the Games as "another competition", which he did all the time.
Steve has also been busy throughout the past week, fielding a host of calls and messages from family and friends eager to pass on their support.
It's a period in which the family has felt like the entire Illawarra region has been behind them.
"I am pretty excited to say the least," he told the Mercury. "I have been running around, and responding to people who have wished Matty good luck, even some people who don't know us too well."
