LIVIGNO, Italy – Eileen Gu defended her Olympic ski halfpipe title on Sunday, making it six medals in six events for her winter sports career.
Gu, 22, who is American but competes for her mother’s homeland of China, is already the most decorated freeskier at the Olympics in the sport’s short history. He added two silver medals at the Milan Cortina Games and two gold and one silver medal at the Beijing Games.
Gu won the competition on the strength of his second run, a clean, technically strong pass. She went even better in her final race – pumping her ski poles after landing the final trick – and finished with a score of 94.75. Her teammate Li Fanghui won the silver medal and Britain’s Zoe Atkin came third.
Misha Thomas of New Zealand said of Gu, “She’s unreal. It’s crazy how good she is.” “She’s ‘Wonder Woman’.”
The event was rescheduled for Sunday after a major blizzard the night before. It was a bright, sunny day when Gu shone in the final event at the Livigno Snow Park. He shielded his eyes from the sun to catch a glimpse of his winning score – and immediately liked what he saw.
There were a lot of Gu fans under the halfpipe, holding pictures of him and waving flags.
Atkin, an American-born skier who competes for Britain, her father’s homeland, jumped high throughout the competition, at one point clearing 5.4 meters (18 ft) above the pipe. She finished ninth at the Beijing Games but has been a consistent presence on the World Cup podium since then. He has achieved three victories in the past four years, all in events where Gu did not compete. Atkin, 23, is the reigning world champion.
On his second attempt, Thomas fell into the halfpipe – and lost his phone. It had to be retrieved for Thomas. After the competition, she reported: “My phone is great. It’s never been better.”
American forward Svaya Irving was a “DNS” in the second round – did not start. She returned for the third race but struggled to complete the maneuvers and finished 11th.
“It was pretty crazy,” Thomas said on the contest broadcast.
Atkin took the lead after the first run with a comfortable performance. Meanwhile, Gu lost his balance on his first move and cut the run short.
Canada’s Cassie Sharp was eliminated from the final after a tough fight in Thursday’s qualifying round. He won a gold medal in the event at the 2018 PyeongChang Games and a silver medal in Beijing four years later.
