Aerial skier Samantha Wells may have departed the World Freestyle Ski Championships in Voss, Norway, without a medal but the Australian Institute of Sport / Victorian Institute of Sport athlete left with a prized item of another kind.

After finishing sixth overall, the best result of her career, the 23-year-old from Mt Buller plucked up the courage to ask the Crown Prince of Norway, Haakon, to exchange beanies after the event.

Sam told the Crown Prince that it was a time-honoured tradition in Australia and with many international sporting events for an item of uniform to be exchanged between rivals.

“Sam went over and introduced herself to the Crown Prince of Norway and swapped her Australian beanie and an Australian flag for his Norwegian beanie,” AIS aerial skiing program manager and physiotherapist Ashley Merkur said.

“He complimented her on her jumping and she thanked him for taking an interest.”

Danielle Scott has become the latest athlete to contribute to Australia’s rich history in aerial skiing by winning the bronze medal at the World Freestyle Ski Championships in Voss, Norway.

The third place in the season’s biggest event means that Scott, who turned 23 on the day of the event, has two big reasons to celebrate.

Scott’s first podium finish of her career headlined an outstanding day for all five Australian Institute of Sport / Victorian Institute of Sport athletes competing in the World Championships.

Four Aussie women were among the top eight places while Australia’s only male aerial athlete finished fifth, meaning that all five athletes competing at the biennial World Championships qualified for the final eight.

Scott’s third place in the event, which is only surpassed by the Winter Olympic Games, ends a highly successful northern hemisphere aerial season that saw an Australian athlete on the podium in every event of the season.

Four different AIS/VIS aerial skiers achieved a podium during the season, indicating that the current depth of talent will only boost Australia’s chances of an aerial skiing medal at next year’s Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

Among the contenders will be current Olympic champion Lydia Lassila, fifth place, Samantha Wells, who was sixth and Laura Peel, eighth.

David Morris, who recorded his debut World Cup win in the Ukraine two weeks ago, was fifth in the World Championship event after qualifying for the final in second place.

But the day belonged to the birthday girl who is predictably ecstatic about her biggest achievement to date and a performance that caps off a season which has progressively grown in strength.

“What an awesome birthday present. This morning when I woke up I said to myself ‘this is the day to do it, bring it on’,” Scott said.

“I definitely considered a medal today was within reach. I have been so close the entire season and I have been wanting it so bad.

“I’m now really looking forward to what is ahead. At the risk of sounding cliché, this means the world to me.”

While China’s Mengtao Xu may have won the women’s title and Russia’s Veronika Korsunova was second, Scott, who was presented with the Federation of International Skiing rookie of the year award last season, was arguably the athlete who received the most attention during the medal ceremony.

“When they were announcing the final podium, a lot of the teams and the crowd started to sing happy birthday, which was something very special.

“One of the Swiss girls started, and the Canadians and the Chinese joined in.

“Mengtao gave me a birthday present. I felt really loved out there.”

Scott said she is particularly proud to have won Australia’s seventh World Championships aerial skiing medal and to now be part of a success story that includes greats such as Kirstie Marshall, Jacqui Cooper, Alisa Camplin and Lydia Lassila.

Cooper, Australia’s most successful aerial skier in World Championships, was instrumental in recruiting Scott into the aerial skiing program and has continued to contribute to her development.

Scott continues to regard Cooper as her role model and in fact the two exchanged emails before the World Championships.

“Jacqui has been alongside of me the whole time,” Scott said.

“I haven’t spoken to her yet but I sent her an email this morning. She sent me a couple of emails before the event and wished me luck.

“The main advice she gave me was before Sochi (last month’s Olympic test event) and she gave me a few pointers that really helped me.”