ZHANGJIAKOU, China — When some competitors barely cleared the top of the halfpipe on late-run tricks, Chinese star Eileen Gu continued to soar. Camera operators bent backward to track the teenager’s motion through the air as she spun off the wall of the halfpipe, climbing higher and higher just as she has for the last two weeks.
Gu reached a new level Friday, becoming the first freestyle skier to win three medals in the same Olympics. After gold and silver medals in slopestyle and big air, respectively, she dominated the women’s halfpipe final at Genting Snow Park, extending her undefeated halfpipe season with a second Olympic gold medal. Gu recorded the two highest scores of the competition, including a gold-medal-winning 95.25 on her second attempt, before taking a victory lap.
Canadians Cassie Sharp and Rachael Karker took silver and bronze, respectively. American Hanna Faulhaber finished sixth in her first Olympics while Brita Sigourney and Carly Margulies finished 10th and 11th on a windy and cold day.
