Freestyle skiing opened at Milan Cortina 2026 with a dramatic women’s slopestyle qualification that lived up to its billing as a showdown between Eileen Gu of China and Switzerland's Mathilde Gremaud.
Gu overcame an uncharacteristic spill on the first feature of her first run, but was able to put down a smooth second run for a score of 75.30 to easily qualify for the final. But it was Gremaud who will enter the next stage with a target on her back after she landed two clean runs that totaled 76.68 and 79.15, respectively — the top scores of the day.
Great Britain's Kirsty Muir qualified third with American Avery Krumme in fourth, only 0.05 points behind Muir.
Canada's Megan Oldham opened the event with a clean first run consisting of a smooth rail section followed by a pair of 900s (two-and-a-half rotations) before going big on a left cork 720 (two full rotations) with a safety grab. Her score of 61.05 held on to qualify her 7th amongst the 12 skiers advancing to Monday's final.
Gu was second to drop in, but her run was abruptly cut short after uncharacteristically going down on the first rail section. She wasn’t the only one who struggled. Four other skiers, including American Grace Henderson and Canadian Elena Gaskell, who landed wide and lost a ski, also fell on the same rail during their first run. Henderson finished 15th and Gaskell later lost another ski during her second run, eliminating herself from medal contention.
Swiss skier Sarah Hoefflin had a solid start to her first run, with a switch 270 to forward followed by a frontside 450 out. She went so big on a double 1080 (two off-axis flips while rotation three times) off the first kicker that she lost both skis.
Marin Hamill, the only American woman with Olympic experience, had a solid first run with a right cork 720, left 540 mute and switch right 720 with a Japan grab, but fell on her second run. Her first run’s score of 47.91 slotted her 16th.
After the tense first run, the DJ at Livigno Snow Park lightened the mood by leading an audience singalong to “Sarà perché ti amo” (roughly translates to “It must be because I love you”) by Italian pop group Ricchi e Poveri. It must’ve worked because several competitors found their footing for their second run.
Gu returned for her final run with a switch 270 forward to 270 on, 270 off the flat barrel feature. On the kickers, she hit a switch misty 900, followed by a cork 720 with a tail grab, concluding with a cork 900 with a unique Buick grab. The Buick grab, a double grab with both hands on the skis, is a rare sight in women’s competitions. Her clean run boosted her to qualify second with a score of 75.30. Gu was all smiles after seeing her result and even threw a double thumbs up to the cameraman.
But Gremaud was not to be outdone. She responded with an even stronger second run, where she brought out the biggest trick of the day on the money booter — a double cork 1260. She bested her first run’s score by 2.47 points, maintaining her top spot.
Hoefflin kept both skis on her feet during her second run to hit a left 1080 with a safety grab, followed by a right 540 mute and a switch right 720 mute, but it wasn’t enough to qualify for the final.
Home country hero, Italian Maria Gasslitter, made her Olympic debut by stomping a switch 900, right 720 and left 9 tail grab to score 54.66 in the first run — a score that held on just enough to qualify for the final with a narrow 0.16-point lead over Hoefflin’s score of 54.50.
American Rell Harwood did not start.
Final Qualifiers:
1) Mathilde Gremaud (SUI)
2) Eileen Gu (CHN)
3) Kirsty Muir (GBR)
4) Avery Krumme (USA)
5) Han Linshan (CHN)
6) Anni Karava (FIN)
7) Megan Oldham (CAN)
8) Naomi Urness (CAN)
9) Lara Wolf (AUT)
10) Giulia Tanno (SUI)
11) Liu Mengting (CHN)
12) Maria Gasslitter (ITA)
Find out who comes out on top of Gu and Gremaud's rematch when the women's slopestyle final starts at 6:30 a.m. ET on Monday, Feb. 9. The contest can be watched live on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.