Eileen Gu captured Olympic gold in the women’s ski halfpipe final on a breezy and cold Friday morning to become the first action-sports athlete to pick up three medals at the same Winter Games.
With hands on her hips, Gu visualized her first two runs at the top of the Secret Garden halfpipe course. Then, she flawlessly executed her plan. She warmed up with a 93.25 on her first pass, before going even higher and bigger to post a 95.25 on her second. The contest was sealed by the time she dropped for her final run and she took a nice relaxed stroll through the halfpipe.
The standout American-born freestyle skier who represents China adds to the gold from big air and silver from slopestyle.
Defending Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe of Canada was second with a score of 90.75. She threw a pair of impressive 1080s, and commented after the result: “I'll take it.” She's just a little over a year removed from suffering a torn ligament in her knee.
Sharpe's teammate, Rachael Karker, took bronze. Teenager Hanna Faulhaber was the top American finisher in sixth place.
The temperature hovered around 3 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 16 degrees Celsius) with an 11 mph (18 kph) wind and plenty of gusts. Like on Gu's second run when the wind struck right when she was sailing through the air, a plume of snow blowing behind her.
It didn't seem to bother her. Nothing has.
There’s been plenty of pressure and lots of attention on Gu and her Olympic quest. She just went about her business of winning medals as she competed for her mother’s home country.
Like Gu, Kelly Sildaru of Estonia competed in three freestyle skiing events. Sildaru was fourth in the halfpipe competition. She earned a bronze in slopestyle.
Zhang Kexin of China had a scary crash on her final run. Zhang stayed down in the halfpipe for a moment before getting up and skiing down.
