'Rode like s***': Aussie's heartbreak after Winter Olympics chaos

Australian snowboarder Jarryd Hughes' quest for a repeat effort of his 2018 Winter Games podium has fallen devastatingly short following an impressive comeback from injury.

Hughes won silver in the men's snowboard cross at the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, but an ankle injury last year while training at Thredbo threatened to derail his potential to compete in Beijing at all.

CONTROVERSY: Winter Olympics official hits back at ugly 'corruption' allegation

'SOUR GRAPES': China's fury over 'shameful' Eileen Gu drama

The 26-year-old made a miraculous recovery to qualify for the Games, but faced a brutal draw after qualifying for the quarter final.

Up against top-ranked German Martin Noel and Spanish world champion Lucas Eguibar, the going was always going to be tough.

Snowboard cross can be a brutal event and so it was for Hughes, with the Aussie star crashing out of his 1/8 final to bring his medal hopes to a swift end.

It was a heartbreaking result for Hughes, with his crash also potentially ruling him out of the mixed teams event, where he was set to compete alongside Belle Brockhoff.

Clearly devastated by the result, a remarkably candid Hughes said after the race that it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"It was nice to get a hug from everybody. (I'm) holding back tears," he said.

"I'm just really disappointed with my result. I was happy with my riding ability, I got a bit unlucky with some wind but I was riding well. Just really unhappy with the result.

"It's been a lot to get back from surgery. It was feeling great the last couple of weeks, it finally felt like it was all coming together.

"I couldn't put it together. I'm so sorry.

"No excuses, I rode like s***."

While he wasn't looking for a way out, Hughes tore the ligament off his ankle training in August and after being unable to manage the injury, went for surgery.

He had been having regular cortisone injections, including one last week in order to compete.

"It's been a tough couple of months coming back from surgery and bad injuries, concussion ... I've been working my arse off to get it back," he said.

"I've been feeling good and I came here ready to perform and I haven't.

"I'm just going to have to come back in four years to get that gold that I want."

Aussie team to make crucial call ahead of mixed teams snowboard cross

Only fellow triple Olympian Cameron Bolton made it through the first final at the Genting Snow Park on Thursday, but he but was eliminated at the quarter-final stage.

Fellow Australians Adam Dickson and Adam Lambert bowed out at the same stage as Hughes.

The result could cost Hughes a spot alongside Belle Brockhoff, who finished fourth in the women's event, in the mixed teams race on Saturday despite the pair being reigning world champions.

Australian selectors are expected to make a call on Thursday night with Bolton poised to jump into the hot seat.

Bolton, 31, clocked the eighth-fastest time in the first run and won a bronze at the most recent World Cup in Italy.

"I've been feeling really good all day so that made it disappointing in that run," Bolton said.

He said the Australian men would all feel that way after arriving in Beijing with high hopes.

"It's the nature of the sport but I can tell you there will be four boys after today who are bitterly disappointed with their results," Bolton said.

"I know they're all capable of much stronger results on their day."

Austrian Alessandro Haemmerle won the final ahead of Canadian Eliot Grondin, with Italian Omar Visintin taking the bronze medal.

With AAP

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.