Gremaud grabs women's freeski slopestyle gold, China's Gu wins silver at Beijing 2022

CHONGLI, Zhangjiakou, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Swiss skier Mathilde Gremaud, runner-up at PyeongChang 2018, claimed the women's freeski slopestyle gold at Beijing 2022 here on Tuesday.

China's prodigy Gu Ailing, who beat Gremaud in the Big Air for the gold on February 8, took the silver with her third run score of 86.23 points.

In the dramatic three-run final, Gremaud, 22, collapsed in the first section of her first run, receiving only 1.10 points as she was unable to perform in the other five sections of the run.

"Actually, I did not feel too much pressure after the first run. I was thinking that I have two more runs to show my best," Gremaud said after the final.

"I love skiing and do it for fun," she added.

Gremaud, who had taken the Big Air bronze at Shougang on February 8, rebounded in her second run, collecting the eventual winning score of 86.56 points and her ranking rose from the bottom of the 11 finalists to the top.

Although she got only 46.96 for her third run, it did not have any impact on her top podium finish.

Gu, 18, did not show her form in the first two runs, ranking only eighth after her second run. But she captured the last chance to throw a series of brilliant tricks in her third run to finish second.

"So, so special. It really came down to the last run again. I don't know why I keep doing it to myself. But I am happy that I was able to push through and turn that pressure into fuel and it feels so, so good," said Gu.

On her Olympic debut, Gu is setting her sights on a second gold medal at Beijing 2022 in the halfpipe competition, which starts on Thursday.

"My goal coming into this Olympics was to win one gold, and have one more podium in a different event so I've already met that goal and I'm going into my strongest event. Feeling really good right now and super excited to see what the next couple of days bring," Gu added.

"My biggest goal is to inspire young girls in China and worldwide to have interactions with the sport, to be able to try skiing," she noted.

The bronze medal went to Estonian talent Kelly Sildaru, who notched down 82.06 points on her first run. The 2020 Youth Olympic champion almost completed a perfect second run until the last landing in the sixth section ended with a ski detached from her left foot.

Without the ski, the 19-year-old still skied smoothly to the finishing area, but her score was only 46.71 points.

"It's super great to be here. I missed the last Olympics due to injury, so it was super important for me to get to the Olympics, and now I'm here," Sildaru said.

On carrying the flag for Estonia at the opening ceremony, she said, "It felt super amazing. I've always trained and skied alone, and now we have the Estonian team here."

Marin Hamill of the United States, who had qualified for the final, did not start on Tuesday due to a knee injury in the second run of the qualification on Monday.