By JOSEPH WILSON, Associated Press
LIVIGNO, Italy (AP) — Mathilde Gremaud successfully defended her Olympic freeski slopestyle title and denied Eileen Gu a gold medal for a second straight Winter Games.
Gremaud won Monday’s final with a score of 86.96 from the best of her three jumps, while Gu again took silver behind her Swiss rival with her best effort of 86.58.
Gu needed a huge score on her final run when she had one last chance to better Gremaud, but that run barely lasted. Gu skittered off the first rail and toppled to her side, dashing her title hopes.
Knowing she had locked up the gold after Gu fell, Gremaud tied a Swiss flag around her neck and wore it like a cape as she cruised down the course on her victory lap. After coming off the course, she embraced her teammates to celebrate her fourth career Olympic medal. Nearby, ecstatic supporters waved Swiss flags.
Gremaud, who turned 26 the day before the final, has now beaten Gu twice in Olympic finals by the slightest of margins: 0.33 points in 2022, and 0.38 in 2026.
Canada’s Megan Oldham claimed bronze.
That tricky rail doomed Gu
Strong as Gremaud was in the jumps, Gu was undone by the railing section at the start of her run.
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Gu led after the first of three runs when she nailed her routine, but Gremaud laid down her winning run on her second go to move to the top of the points table. Gu then wobbled off the rail on her second run; even though she kept her balance, but the mistake resulted in a low score.
That same rail section had caused Gu to fall during Saturday’s qualifying, when she had to execute perfectly on a second go to advance to the final.
But when it mattered most on Monday and Gu had her last shot to snatch a win, the result was the same: Just seconds into her run she went tipping off the rail and tumbled in the snow.
Gu, who was born in America but competes for China, became a global star at the 2022 Beijing Games where she won three medals, including gold in freeski halfpipe and big air. She will now turn to defending her titles at these Games.
Gremaud’s medal chest includes a silver in slopestyle from the 2018 Winter Games and a bronze in big air from 2022. She is also a two-time world champion in slopestyle in 2025 and 2023, among other titles.
In slopestyle, skiers perform acrobatic tricks while skiing over rails and jumps that are judged for difficulty and execution. The Livigno course consists of three rail sections followed by three jumps. The best score of the three jumps counts.
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