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Olympic skiing star Eileen Gu suffered a gnarly fall during the women’s halfpipe qualifier on Thursday.
Gu’s fall came on her first run when she clipped the lip of the halfpipe on the third trick, knocking her left ski off and sending her skittering to the bottom of the course.
That set up a pressure-packed second attempt that she had to complete cleanly to stay in contention.
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China’s Eileen Gu competes in the freestyle skiing women’s freeski halfpipe qualification run 1 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on Feb. 19, 2026. (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Gu didn’t go conservative and laid down a run full of risky tricks, including one that took her soaring 14 feet over the edge of the halfpipe. She came close to clipping her ski on one landing but managed to stay upright.
Her run earned 86.50 points, good enough to place fifth among the 12 skiers who advanced to the final.
“I was relieved,” Gu said. “I just kind of had this moment of like, ‘Thank you.’ You know, I shouldn’t be in this position to begin with, but I’m glad that I was able to reinforce my sense of self-belief at the moment when it counted.”
So far, Gu has won two silver medals in freestyle skiing in Milan Cortina in the slopestyle and big air events. The halfpipe final on Saturday is her last chance to win gold.
An interaction Tuesday with a reporter went viral after Gu responded to a question about her winning two silver medals instead of gold so far this Olympics, suggesting the question came from a “ridiculous perspective.”
“I’m the most decorated female freeskier in history. I think that’s an answer in and of itself,” Gu said when asked if she saw her two medals as “silvers earned” or “golds lost.”
CONTROVERSIAL OLYMPIAN EILEEN GU UPSET OVER ‘REALLY UNFAIR’ WINTER GAMES SCHEDULE
Eileen Gu of Team People’s Republic of China falls in the Women’s Freeski Halfpipe Qualification 1 on day thirteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Air Park on Feb. 19, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“How do I say this? Winning a medal at the Olympics is a life-changing experience for every athlete. Doing it five times is exponentially harder because every medal is equally hard for me, but everybody else’s expectations rise, right?
“The two medals lost situation, to be quite frank with you, I think is kind of a ridiculous perspective to take. I’m showcasing my best skiing. I’m doing things that quite literally have never been done before. So, I think that is more than good enough, but thank you.”
Gu has been the subject of global criticism since her decision to represent China dating back to the original decision in 2019 and her first Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. This year, that criticism has ramped up.
Vice President JD Vance weighed in on the controversy surrounding Gu in an interview Tuesday on Fox News’ “The Story With Martha MacCallum.”
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China’s Eileen Gu competes in the freestyle skiing women’s freeski halfpipe qualification run 1 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Livigno Snow Park, in Livigno (Valtellina), on Feb. 19, 2026. (Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
“I certainly think that someone who grew up in the United States of America who benefited from our education system, from the freedoms and liberties that makes this country a great place, I would hope they want to compete with the United States of America,” Vance said.
“So, I’m going to root for American athletes. I think part of that is people who identify themselves as Americans. That’s who I’m rooting for in this Olympics.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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