02/22/26 05:36:00
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02/22 05:34 CST Eileen Gu defends Olympic ski halfpipe gold, makes it 6 medals
in 6 events over Winter Games career
Eileen Gu defends Olympic ski halfpipe gold, makes it 6 medals in 6 events over
Winter Games career
By PAT GRAHAM
AP Sports Writer
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) --- Eileen Gu defended her Olympic ski halfpipe title on
Sunday to make it six medals in six events over her Winter Games career.
The 22-year-old Gu, American-born but competing for her mother's homeland of
China, is already the most decorated freeskier in the short history of the
sport at the Olympics. She also captured two silver medals at the Milan Cortina
Games, to pair with two golds and a silver from the Beijing Games.
Gu won the event on the strength of her second run, a clean, technically sound
pass. She got even better in her final run --- pumping his ski poles after
landing the final trick --- and finished with a score of 94.75. Her teammate,
Li Fanghui, took silver and Zoe Atkin of Britain was third.
"She is unreal. It's pretty crazy how good she is," New Zealand's Mischa Thomas
said of Gu. "She is ?Wonder Woman.'"
The event was rescheduled to Sunday following a big snowstorm the night before.
It was a bright, sunny day as Gu shined in the final event at the Livigno Snow
Park. She shielded her eyes from the sun to catch a peek of her winning score
--- and instantly liked what she saw.
There were quite a few Gu fans at the base of the halfpipe, holding up pictures
of her and waving flags.
Atkin, an American-born skier who competes for her father's homeland of
Britain, soared high all contest, a staggering 5.4 meters (18 feet) above the
pipe at one point. She finished ninth at the Beijing Games but has been a
steady presence on World Cup podiums ever since. She has three victories over
the last four years, all in events where Gu didn't compete. The 23-year-old
Atkin is the defending world champion.
In her second run, Thomas dropped into the halfpipe --- and dropped her phone.
It had to be retrieved for Thomas. After the competition, she reported: "My
phone is great. Never been better."
Svea Irving was a "DNS" --- did not start --- in the American's second run. She
returned for a third run but struggled to complete a maneuver and finished in
11th.
"It was pretty insane," Thomas said on the broadcast of the competition.
Atkin took the lead after the first run with a smooth performance. Meanwhile,
Gu lost her balance on her first trick and cut the run short.
Cassie Sharpe of Canada sat out the final after a hard crash in Thursday's
qualifying round. She won the gold in the event at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games
and silver four years later in Beijing.
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AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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