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Eileen Gu makes history with Olympic halfpipe gold
Eileen Gu soared to victory in the the women's freeski halfpipe final on Sunday to end her wait for a gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, becoming the most decorated freestyle skier in the history of the Winter Games.
The 22-year-old, who also won silver in slopestyle and big air in Italy, posted a best score of 94.75 at Livigno Snow Park to edge out China teammate Li Fanghui, who scored 93.00. Great Britain's Zoe Atkin took bronze.
As in her previous competitions, Gu was forced to deal with self-inflicted pressure.
The defending champion flunked her first run, scoring just 30.00, as world champion Atkin set the pace with 90.50.
But Gu, who now has three Olympic golds and three silvers in total, produced a dazzling performance in the second round to wow the judges.
She punched the air, cheered by a sizeable group of Chinese fans, who stood behind a row of flags, and was awarded 94.00.
Gu raised her game still further in her final run, posting 94.75 to put her further out of reach and her competitors could not catch her.
Atkin's bronze, with 92.50, came eight years after her sister Izzy also won bronze in the slopestyle at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
Australia's 16-year-old prodigy Indra Brown scored an impressive 87.00 on her final run to finish fifth.
The field was reduced to 11 competitors after Canada's Cassie Sharpe was ruled out of the final due to concussion following a heavy crash in qualifying.
Gu's sixth Olympic medal in freestyle skiing takes her clear of a tie with Canada's Mikael Kingsbury and China's Xu Mengtao.
She celebrated her win in front of her supporters before receiving her gold medal wearing a large golden bow in her hair.
US-born Gu was the darling of the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where she won two golds and a silver, and has again been one of the standout stars in Italy.
The women's final was postponed from Saturday evening after heavy snowfall in the Italian Alps but Sunday's competition took place in dazzling sunshine.
T.Chmielewski--GL
