No complaints from Kilner after Olympic debut

From Sportsbeat staff, Vancouver

 BRITISH snowboarder Ben Kilner insists he ticked all the boxes on his Olympic debut - but admitted he would leave Vancouver with a tinge of disappointment.

SATISFIED: Great Britain's Ben Kilner admits he would have loved to take his place in the final but was happy with reaching the semis nonetheless (Getty Images)

The 21-year-old collected 32.1 points in his second run in qualifying - good enough to book his place in the semi-finals and achieve his pre-Games objectives.

With the pressure off in the semis, Kilner, who captured his first ever World Cup medal by taking bronze in Calgary just weeks before arriving in Vancouver, cut loose, but falls in both runs ensured he ended up 12th.

And while Kilner is adamant he did himself justice at Cypress Mountain, the Brit confessed he would have loved another bite at the cherry.

"I am pretty bummed, but I came out to Vancouver aiming to qualify for the semi-final and I was really happy to do so," said Kilner.

"I would have loved to have landed another couple of runs and reached the final but unfortunately I fell twice.

"During the first run I made an error at the drop in which ruined the first hit and then that led on to less speed.

"The second run I managed to correct where I went wrong during the first but I landed slightly flat on one trick and that caused me to unfortunately fall over again and I just didn't have the strength to hold myself up."

While Kilner was enjoying his Olympic debut, American superstar Shaun White continued to push the boundaries and took victory with an incredulous 48.4 points after unveiling his new secret weapon - the Double McTwist.

And Kilner admitted it was an honour to be sharing the Olympic stage with the likes of White, who collected his second consecutive gold medal.

"I love competing in the same events as Shaun White, he brings a lot of attention and that's good for the sport," added Kilner.

"For people in the UK to see what guys like him are doing is fantastic - there's no question he's the best snowboarder in the world."

AS IT HAPPENS: Day six of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver

IN PICTURES: American Shaun White collects snowboarding halfpipe gold