‘Exhausted’ Eileen Gu qualifies for freeski halfpipe final after overcoming first-run crash

Reigning Olympic champion Eileen Gu said she is “exhausted” after recovering from a fall to qualify for the women’s freestyle skiing halfpipe final, her third and final event.

China’s Gu has already won two silver medals in slopestyle and big air at the Milan Cortina Olympics, making her the most decorated women’s freestyle skier in history. She will attempt to win a third in Saturday’s halfpipe final.

The 22-year-old, who has never entered an Olympic event without winning a medal, fell on her first run by uncharacteristically clipping the lip of the halfpipe on her third trick.

“I needed to be aggressive,” she told the Olympic news service. “I needed to become the hunter, not the prey. I needed to shift that dynamic. I was waiting for it to happen because I know when it happens, I can feel it.

“I went into the first run, and I knew I didn’t have it, and I was like, please just don’t fall. You can still land a run and not feel 100 percent. Unfortunately, I did not do that.”

Entering the second run, Gu had to land a clean routine to make the top 12. She attacked it with consecutive 900-degree tricks, soaring 4.3m above the 6.7m halfpipe, but once again slightly caught the wall on the way down from the same third trick — a 720. This time, though, she stuck the landing, holding her nerve to score 86.50 to qualify fifth.

Gu is the only female freestyle skier competing in all three freeski events — slopestyle, halfpipe and big air — at the Winter Games.

“At this point, I’m exhausted. And the thing is, no judge is giving me extra points for being good at rails,” Gu said. “No judge is giving me extra points because I missed a training. I’m the only one in this field competing in one other event, let alone two, 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. And so I feel that that is just the mentality I take. I choose to do three events. I’m not complaining about it, but I’m just saying the reality of the situation is I train like a third of what everybody else does.

“Tomorrow’s (Friday) my first off day since February 2. So I’m really excited. In Chinese, there’s a saying ‘lie flat’. I just have one more day (of competition), and then I can just lie flat.”

Gu fell in her first run, leaving her with much work to do on her second run. (Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP via Getty Images)

Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin, Gu’s rival, qualified in first place with a score of 91.50, putting down a commanding performance in both runs, showing confidence and fluidity.

The defending world champion and 2026 X Games winner — the pinnacle of the sport outside the Olympics — cruised into the final, showing massive height on her tricks, soaring 5m above the 7m halfpipe. In December, Gu beat Atkin by just 1.5 points to take the 2025-2026 World Cup halfpipe title.

Judges score the sequence of tricks based on their degree of risk and how the competitor uses the halfpipe. Athletes are deducted points for falls, stops, overrotations and minor mistakes. On Saturday, competitors start in reverse order of their qualification results, and the best of their three runs will count.

Last week, Gu criticized the scheduling of her freeski events, saying the program “doesn’t make sense” and is “really unfair.”

The big air final, which took place on Monday, clashed with one of the three training sessions leading up to Thursday’s qualification, meaning Gu could only attend two of the halfpipe practices provided.

In a statement to The Athletic, FIS communications director Bruno Sassi said, “Constructing the Olympic competition program is a complex process.”

Meanwhile, 2018 Olympic halfpipe gold medalist Cassie Sharpe was taken off on a stretcher after hitting the icy floor hard on her second run. The Canadian was seen waving to the crowd as she left the course and qualified for the final in third position thanks to her score of 88.25 on her first run.