Chinese freestyle skiing icon Gu Ailing Eileen successfully defended her Olympic gold medal in women’s halfpipe on Sunday at the Milan‑Cortina Winter Olympics.
She sealed her victory with a final run scoring 94.75 points, after already achieving the best score of the competition with 94.00 points in her second run.
Gu’s first run was marred by a landing error on her opening 900‑degree spin, which caused her to lose speed and momentum. She recovered in her second run, landing two consecutive 900‑degree spins and completing the rest of her routine flawlessly, which put her at the top of the leaderboard before improving further in the final.
This gold medal adds to Gu’s Olympic record, marking her third Winter Olympic title after winning two golds in Beijing 2022. It is also her third medal at these Games, having already secured two silvers in slopestyle and big air.
Her compatriot Li Fanghui claimed silver with an excellent third run scoring 93.00. Britain’s Zoe Atkin, who had topped the qualifications, took bronze with 92.50 points.
Following this double victory, China’s medal tally at Milan‑Cortina stood at five golds, four silvers, and six bronzes as of Sunday — the country’s best result ever at a Winter Olympics abroad, surpassing the previous record of 5‑2‑4 at Vancouver 2010.
The other two Chinese freestyle skiers, Zhang Kexin and Liu Yishan, finished sixth and ninth respectively.