Alexandra Duckworth thanks Nova Scotians for support at Olympics

Alexandra Duckworth says it was the support from her home province that helped her make the most of her time at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi as she competed at the woman's snowboarding halfpipe event.

The native of Kingsburg, on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, qualified for the semifinals but didn't advance to the finals on Wednesday. Americans Kaitlyn Farrington and Kelly Clark took gold and bronze respectively, while Australian Torah Bright won the silver medal.

Duckworth told CBC News she was "surprisingly calm" before her runs.

"I knew I could do it and I just kind of took a moment and it was actually surprisingly calm at the top there. A lot of people have been asking me about the pressure," she said.

"I think once you get here it's really all about enjoying the stay and having fun so you can take that memory with you. That was what I really set out to do and it worked out."

• REPLAY: Women's snowboarding halfpipe qualifications
• REPLAY: Women's snowboarding halfpipe semifinals
• REPLAY: Women's snowboarding halfpipe finals

Duckworth fell at the end of both her runs in the semifinal round, scoring outside of the top 10. Neither Duckworth nor her fellow Canadian teammate Katie Tsuyuki made it to the finals.

"I kind of knew it was over after the first hit there. I put a little bit too much into that first trick, it's called a crippler," said Duckworth.

"I went in with a lot of excitement and I over-rotated it a little bit. It would've been really nice to land and get in the final there but everyone gets excited. It's the Olympics. There's a lot of falling, it's pretty remarkable."

The support for Duckworth was palpable in her home province as Nova Scotians came out in droves to cheer her on. More than 100 fans packed into a movie theatre in Bayers Lake to watch the early morning qualifying round.

"Amazing," Duckworth tweeted from Sochi when she saw photos of the movie theatre.

Tweets poured in for the 26-year-old snowboarder as she made her Olympic debut.

"You're making Kingsburg and all of Canada proud," tweeted Mike Savage, mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Coinciding with Duckworth's run, the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic announced four $100,000 grants for elite athletes, including Duckworth.

"The best thing was taking my phone off of airplane mode after qualifications and seeing all the tweets and all the support coming from Nova Scotia," Duckworth said.

"A shout out to all you guys because that made it a lot more fun for me."