SNOWBOARD CROSS: Belle Brockhoff has started her Olympic campaign in style with a fast qualifying run at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. 

The 21-year-old was ranked equal sixth after her time trial on the course and will take that seeding through to the head-to-head racing starting at 2pm local time (9pm AEDT).

Her time of 1:23.22 was 2.61 seconds behind the fastest qualifier Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic. As an athlete ranked in the top 12 she was only needed one qualifying trial.

Halfpipe silver medallist Torah Bright had a clean run down the course for qualifying 1 but couldn’t match the speed of the top girls. She was ranked 18th with a time of 1:25.32. The 27-year-old then headed back up the hill to see if she could improve on that, and she did.

Bright was much quicker second time round. Her time of 1:23.96 moved her up 15th on the total rankings. That time would have ranked her equal ninth from the first run.

She told media after her second run that having two runs wasn’t such a bad thing as her first qualifying was the first time she had successfully navigated the course in either training or warm-up.

Athletes will now race in the quarter-finals of up to six competitors with the top three progressing from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals. The top three will again progress to the Big Final where the medals are decided. Fourth to sixth in the semis will contest the Small Final for final rankings.

Brockhoff and Bright have drawn each other in quarter-final four along with American favourite Lindsey Jacobellis who was second fastest in qualifying. This looks to be the toughest of the quarter-finals.

Junior World Champion Samkova will race in quarter-final 1 and defending Olympic Champion Maelle Ricker (CAN) who qualified third fastest will race in quarter-final 3.