As Anna Pryce crossed the finish line to close out her Olympic debut, she was only listening out for the cheers of one person.
The Inverurie cross-country skier's mother passed away in 2025 and therefore did not get to see her daughter qualify for or compete at the Olympic Games.
But as Pryce stormed to an impressive 24th-place finish in the women's 10km interval start free, she admitted that thoughts of her biggest fan were dominating throughout during one of the biggest moments of her life.
"I definitely thought about her today both while and before I was racing and it makes me get a bit choked up," she said.
"I thought about what she would say and do. She would just be so excited and thrilled and yelling 'go Annie'.
"It's hard to think and talk about but I'm so lucky to know that she would be so excited."
Pryce's best friends and boyfriend, from her home town in Canada, made the journey out to Italy to watch her compete, with others getting up in the middle of the night back home to cheer her on.
She has improved throughout the this competition, upgrading 42nd in the 10km+10km skiathlon to a 24th in the 10km interval free.
It speaks to continued rise in the World Cup rankings and on the international circuit but Pryce herself also puts it down to letting the pressure ebb away and being able to just enjoy racing at the Olympics.
"Yeah it was good, it was lots of fun," she said.
"I feel like I pushed my body maybe a little bit too hard on the first lap I think I got a bit too excited and so felt tired on the last two.
"It was a great race to get experience and had a great time out there. My coaches seemed happy so that's always a good sign.
"I was nervous but a lot more chilled out than before the sprint as there was less pressure and expectations. I race better when that is the case."
Pryce will now be able to enjoy the rest of Milano Cortina 2026 before continuing her upwards trajectory on the World Cup circuit.
And with her maiden Olympics already at an end, she felt ending with her best result is just the icing on the cake.
"That's me done now," she said. "I'm not doing the 50km to practice for the next World Cups.
"I'm kind of sad it's over, it has been so fun and I have really enjoyed racing. I've had such a good time here and I'm glad it ended on a good note."
Sportsbeat 2026