Reina Umehara of Japan failed to advance to the women's ski cross quarterfinals of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on Friday.

The 34-year-old Umehara needed to finish in the top two of her three-woman heat to move on, but ended up last behind Switzerland's Fanny Smith and Marielle Berger Sabbatel of France at Phoenix Snow Park.

Umehara, the alpine skier-turned freestyler who was making her first Olympic appearance in Pyeongchang, was the lone Japanese in the ski cross.

"It's tough to accept, but I made no major errors in the race," Umehara said. "I did what I wanted to do. They were superior to me technically."

"I don't think I could have done any more. I just was not good enough."

Canada's Kelsey Serwa, the Sochi Olympics ski cross silver medalist, went one better to win the gold in South Korea. Her countrywoman and close friend Brittany Phelan won silver and Switzerland's Smith bronze.

"I knew that there was no way to let up, that these girls would be right behind, fighting," said Serwa. "I tried to stay as compact and aerodynamic as possible and all the way to the finish line."

Serwa said her relationship with Phelan played a big part in the Canadians' success in Pyeongchang.

"We work together, on the hill, off the hill. We train together. We do everything together, really. I think that camaraderie and friendship helped bring us to this spot today. We didn't come out here to participate, we came out here to win and to do it together is unbelievable," she said.

It was a sentiment echoed by Phelan.

"When I switched from Alpine to ski cross she really helped with everything and it couldn't have worked out better today. I'm so thankful to have Kelsey in my life," she said.