Olympian Russ Henshaw has failed to make the most of a strong start, leaving Australia without a qualifier for the freeski slopestyle final at the New Zealand Winter Games.
Henshaw sat fourth in his 19-man heat after first runs with a score of 73.66, with the top-four from each of Saturday's four heats progressing to the final.
Henshaw, who placed eighth at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, could not improve on his second and final run, posting an eighth-best 68 and being overtaken to finish the heat in eighth.
A medal hopeful for February's Winter Olympics after a strong last season, Henshaw tweaked his back two days before Saturday's competition.
"I struggled through training. For me, to put one down, I was really stoked just because of how everything went," he said.
At the first major winter sports championships of the 2017-18 season, fellow Australians Ryley Lucas and Nic Stevens also failed to qualify after finishing well back in their heats.
Switzerland's Andri Ragettli qualified first for Sunday's final with a 93.33, with British star James Woods next-best after his 92.66.
