OLYMPICS: Freestyle-China's Gu bounces back to land into halfpipe final

LIVIGNO, Italy — Eileen Gu of China bounced back from an early mistake to qualify for the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe final at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, keeping her bid for another medal alive.

The defending champion crashed on her first run after clipping the edge of the U-shaped halfpipe, but recovered with a strong second attempt to secure her place in the final.

“I’m glad I was able to reinforce my sense of self-belief at the moment when it counted,” Gu said.

Gu finished fifth with a score of 86.5 out of a possible 100, with 12 of the 21 competitors advancing to Saturday’s final. Britain’s Zoe Atkin, the 2025 world champion, led the qualifiers with 91.5 points, followed by China’s Li Fanghui on 90.

Atkin delivered a composed performance despite pre-competition nerves.

“I’m really happy I was able to manage that nervousness and put down a clean run,” she said. “It’s honestly a really big relief, so I’m super excited for Saturday.”

Canada’s Cassie Sharpe, the 2018 Olympic gold medalist and 2022 silver medalist, placed third with 88.25 points but suffered a heavy crash on her second run that required medical attention.

Rescue efforts lasted several tense minutes as the crowd fell silent, before spectators applauded when Sharpe signaled she was conscious while being taken off on a stretcher.

Gu, 22, has already won silver medals in slopestyle and big air in Milano Cortina, further cementing her status as the most decorated female freestyle skier in Olympic history.

Born in the United States, Gu chose to represent China in 2019, her mother’s home country. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, she won gold in both big air and halfpipe, along with a silver in slopestyle.

In the halfpipe event, athletes perform aerial tricks on a U-shaped snow ramp and are scored on height, difficulty, execution, and variety. -Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Lisa Richwine, editing by Ken Ferris and Pritha Sarkar/Reuters