Eileen Gu held her nerve to reach the final of the women’s freeski halfpipe on Thursday in an event marred by former Olympic champion Cassie Sharpe’s horrific crash.
China’s defending champion Gu, who has already won two silver medals in Italy, stayed on track for her first gold of the Milan-Cortina Games despite a fall on her first run.
She was under huge pressure for the second of her two runs under the lights at Livigno Snow Park but scored 86.50 to reach Saturday’s final, finishing fifth out of the 12 qualifiers.
“My working hypothesis is that I need to reach a certain threshold of pressure to thrive, and it’s almost like the first run of qualies is not enough,” said Gu. “I honestly don’t know what it is.
“I really don’t want to keep doing this. This is not a good practice to have. I hope I get to the bottom of it.
“Thank God this is my last event. I’m exhausted, I just want to go home to bed.”
Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin topped the scores with 91.50, ahead of China’s Li Fanghui, with 90.00. Canada’s Sharpe (88.25) was third, despite her crash on her second run.
Gu, 22, arrived at the Games in Italy targeting a clean sweep of golds in her three events after winning two golds and a silver at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
But she came up just short in the slopestyle and big air competitions in Livigno.
Dressed in her trademark white suit with dragon motifs, Gu was first to go on Thursday and appeared to be in control during her first run.
But she clipped the wall of the halfpipe halfway down the course and slithered to the base, losing a ski.
US-born Gu faced a long wait before starting her second run, adding to the sense of pressure, bouncing up and down to keep warm.
Eventually she set off and shaved the wall again, but this time stayed on her skis and completed her run, spreading her arms wide in relief.
Gu, the darling of the Beijing Games, has been one of the most high-profile stars in Italy.
She has created her own drama, falling in qualifying in slopestyle and crashing during one of her runs in the big air qualifiers.
Gu said she was rusty in the halfpipe after not competing in the event for two months.
“I’m the only one in this field competing in one other event, let alone two,” she said.
“But I still have to compete against the best of this event.
“When I’m in slopestyle, I’m competing against the best of that event. There is no overall winner, right? I have to be truly the best at each to deserve anything.”
Sharpe, the halfpipe champion at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, tumbled during her second run, losing her skis and poles and lying motionless on the snow as the crowd fell silent.
The 33-year-old was given medical help for about 10 minutes before being dragged off the course on a sled.
Wearing a neck brace, Sharpe, who also won silver four years ago, briefly lifted her head and waved to the crowd.
The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) later issued a statement on her condition.
“Freestyle skier Cassie Sharpe was injured on course during the women’s freestyle ski halfpipe qualification round,” it said. “She is in a stable condition and is being evaluated by COC and Freestyle Canada medical staff.”
It appears unlikely she will be able to compete in the final.
In halfpipe, competitors perform a series of tricks while skiing down a semi-cylindrical slope.
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