San Francisco-born Eileen Gu of China saved her best for last Sunday at the Milan Cortina Games, defending her Olympic title in women's freeski halfpipe to earn a third medal in a final that ranked among the greatest displays the sport has ever seen.
After scrapping her first run, Gu opened her second with a giant 12.5-foot 900 Buick, then linked a 900 and a 700 with tail grabs plus a switch 700 before closing with massive back-to-back alley-oop flat 500s for a 94.00. She cleaned up the same line on her third run to post a 94.75.
The 22-year-old now has six career Olympic medals, leaving Italy as the single-most decorated freestyle skier, man or woman, in Games history. Gu also claimed silver in big air (Day 10) and slopestyle (Day 3), events won by Megan Oldham and Mathilde Gremaud.
“Every day I was fighting. I gave my all every single day that I’ve been here, and that’s no joke," Gu said. "Being able to lead the way and pioneer the sport is something I never imagined I’d be able to do but I’m really honored and proud that I have.”
After landing low on her opening 900 Buick on Run 1 and bailing, Gu said she "[didn't] fully believe in [her]self," perhaps because of "Olympic jitters." She went to the corral and spoke with her mother, Yan, who was born in Beijing.
"[My mom] said, 'You’ve landed this run five times in training. It’s there, stop thinking so much.'" Gu said. "[My mom] literally said, 'I’m not nervous, you will be fine.' That was really helpful.”
During a post-event press conference, Gu broke into tears, revealing that her grandmother had died and that she learned about the news just after her record-setting run.
"I didn't promise her that I was going to win, but I did promise her that I was going to be brave like she has been brave," she said.
Gu's compatriot and 2025 world silver medalist Li Fanghui landed silver with a 93.00, while Thursday's No. 1 qualifier Zoe Atkin of Great Britain, the reigning X Games and world champion, earned bronze with 92.50.
Like Gu, Atkin was raised in the U.S. and now attends Stanford University. She grew up outside Boston and learned to ski in Maine before moving to Park City, Utah, at 9. Her father is from England.
“I was really nervous. I have more, that hopefully you’ll see going forward," Atkin said. "To me, standing on the podium is so amazing, especially after my last Olympics where I was quite disappointed with the way I skied. To be able to show the world what I’ve been working on – that’s a win for me.”
Americans Kate Gray and Svea Irving finished 10th and 11th. Fifteen-year-old Abby Winterberger — Team USA's youngest Winter Olympian since Tara Lipinski at Nagano 1998 — and Riley Jacobs did not advance to the final, placing 15th and 18th in qualifying.
Irving's brother, Birk Irving, finished 5th in the men's freeski halfpipe final on Friday. Their grandfather is author John Irving, who wrote "The Cider House Rules" and "A Prayer for Owen Meany," among other works.
Gray is the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic bronze medalist and posted a career-best World Cup finish of 5th in December.
Missing from Sunday's final was PyeongChang gold and Beijing silver medalist Cassie Sharpe of Canada, who took a hard fall in qualifying.
Before Sunday's contest, Gu, who represented the U.S. until switching allegiance to China in 2019, said she wrote in her journal about self-belief: the love of sport, pouring herself into the sport, having the run of her life and representing her life and her life's work at the moment it counts.
"It’s this beautiful dance, passion and years of dedication, hope and despair and ecstasy," she said. "It’s a really beautiful journey. What I wanted more than anything was just to show the world a glimpse of what I’ve been doing the last four years.”
Sunday's final was originally scheduled for Saturday but was postponed due to weather.
Women's Freeski Halfpipe Final
🥇 Eileen Gu, China (94.75)
🥈 Li Fanghui, China (93.00)
🥉 Zoe Atkin, Great Britain (92.50)
4. Amy Fraser, Canada (88.00)
5. Indra Brown, Australia (87.00)
6. Zhang Kexin, China (83.25)
7. Rachael Karker, Canada (79.50)
8. Mischa Thomas (77.75)
9. Liu Yishan, China (71.75)
10. Kate Gray, United States (66.50)
11. Svea Irving, United States (22.50)
DNS Cassie Sharpe, Canada